James 1:1 . James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. (On the person who thus describes himself, see the Introduction) It is noteworthy that he keeps entirely out of sight his natural relationship to our Lord, and styles himself simply "a bond-servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ." That, and that alone, gave him a right to speak and a claim to be heard. Δοῦλος is similarly used by St. Paul in Romans 1:1; Philippians 1:1; Titus 1:1 by St. Peter in 2 Peter 1:1; and by St. Jude Jude 1:1. It is clearly an official designation, implying that his office is one "in which, not his own will, not the will of other men, but only of God and of Christ, is to be performed" (Huther). To the twelve tribes, etc. Compare the salutation in Acts 15:23, which was also probably written by St. James: "The apostles and the elder brethren unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch, and Syria, and Cilicia, greeting." (1) Χαίρειν is common to both, and not found elsewhere in apostolic greet-tugs. (It is used by Ignatius in the opening of all his epistles except that to the Philadelphians) (2) The letter in the Acts is addressed to Gentile communities in definite regions; St. James’s Epistle, to Jews of the dispersion. So also his contemporary Gamaliel wrote "to the sons of the dispersion in Babylonia, and to our brethren in Media, and to all the dispersion of Israel". Ταῖςδώδεκαφύλαις (cf. δωδεκάφυλον in Acts 26:7; Clem., ’Rom,’ l, § 55.; ’Prefer. Jacob.,’ c.i). Such expressions are important as tending to show that the Jews were regarded as representing, not simply the tribes of Benjamin and Judah, but the whole nation, including those so often spoken of as "the lost tribes" (cf. 1 Esdr. 7:8). Διασπορᾷ. The abstract put for the concrete. It is the word used by the LXX. for the "dispersion" (2 Macc. 1:27; Judith 5:19; cf. Deuteronomy 28:25, etc), i.e. the Jews "so scattered among the nations as to become the seed of a future harvest" (Westcott on St. John 7:35). It was divided into three great sections: (1) the Babylonian, i.e. the original dispersion; (2) the Syrian, dating from the Greek conquests in Asia, Seleucus Nicator having transplanted largo bodies of Jews from Babylonia to the capitals of his Western provinces; (3) the Egyptian, the Jewish settlements in Alexandria, established by Alexander and Ptolemy I., and thence spreading along the north coast of Africa. To these we should, perhaps, add a fourth— (4) the Roman, consequent upon the occupation of Jerusalem by Pompey, B.C. 63. All these four divisions were represented in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (see Acts 2:8-11)—a fact which will help to account for St. James’s letter. The whole expression, "the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad," makes it perfectly clear that St. James is writing (1) to Jews, and (2) to those beyond the borders of Palestine. James 1:2-18 THE SUBJECT OF . This section may be subdivided as follows:— (1) The value of temptation (James 1:2-4). (2) Digression suggested by the thought ’of perfection (James 1:5-11). (3) Return to the subject of temptation (James 1:12-18). James 1:2-4 The value of temptation. Considered as an opportunity, it is a cause for joy. James 1:2 My brethren. A favorite expression with St. James, occurring no less than fifteen times in the compass of this short Epistle. Count it all joy, etc.; cf. 1 Peter 1:6, "Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, ye have been put to grief in manifold temptations, that the proof of your faith (τὸδοκίμιονὑμῶντῆςπίστεως) … might be found unto praise," etc. The coincidence is too close to be accidental, although the shade of meaning given to δοκίμιον is slightly different, if indeed it has any right in the text in St. Peter. Here it has its proper force, and signifies that by which the faith is tried, i.e. the instrument of trial rather than the process of trial. Thus the passage in 1 Peter 1:3 becomes parallel to Romans 5:3, "tribulation worketh patience." With regard to the sentiments of Rom 5:2, "Count it all joy," etc., contrast Matt, Romans 6:13. Experience, however, shows that the two are compatible. It is quite possible to shrink beforehand from temptation, and pray with intense earnestness, "Lead us not into temptation," and yet, when the temptation comes, to meet it joyfully, Περίπέσητε. The use of this word implies that the temptations of which St. James is thinking are external (see Luke 10:30, where the same word is used of the man who fell among thieves). 1 Thessalonians 2:14 and Hebrews 10:32, Hebrews 10:33 will show the trials to which believing Jews were subject. But the epithet "manifold" would indicate that we should not confine the word here to trials such as those. James 1:3 Patience. Υπομονή in general is patience with regard to things, μακροθυμία is rather long-suffering with regard to persons. James 1:4 Patience alone is not sufficient. It must have scope given it for its exercise that it may have its "perfect work." That ye may be perfect (ἵναἧτετέλειοι); cf. Matthew 5:48, "Be ye therefore perfect." Both τέλειος and ὁλόκληρος were applied to the initiated, the fully instructed, as opposed to novices in the ancient mysteries; and as early as 1 Corinthians 2:6, 1 Corinthians 2:7 we find τέλειος used for the Christian who is no longer in need of rudimentary teaching, and possibly this is the thought here. The figure, however, is probably rather that of the full-grown man. Τέλειοι, equivalent to "grown men" as opposed to children; ὁλόκληροι, sound in every part and limb (cf. ὁλοκληρίαν in Acts 3:16). From this τέλειος assumes a moral-complexion, that which has attained its aim. Compare its use in Genesis 6:9 and Deuteronomy 18:13, where it is equivalent to the Latin integer vitae, and the following passage from Stobaeus, which exactly serves to illustrate St. James’s thought in verses 4 and 5, Τὸνἀγαθὸνἄνδρατέλειονεἶναιλέγουσιν, διὰτὸμηδεμίαςἀπολείπεσθαιἀρετῆς The "perfection" which is to be attained in this life may be further illustrated from Hebrews 12:23—a passage which is often misunderstood, but which undoubtedly means that the men were made perfect (πνεύμασιδικαίωντετελειωμένων), and that not in a future state, but here on earth, where alone they can be subject to those trials and conflicts by the patient endurance of which they are perfected for a higher state of being. The whole passage before us (Hebrews 12:2-6) affords a most remarkable instance of the figure called by grammarians anadiplosis, the repetition of a marked word at the close of one clause and beginning of another. "The trial of your faith worketh patience; but let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing. But if any man lack wisdom, let him ask of the giving God … and it shall be given him; but let him ask in faith, nothing doubting, for he that doubteth," etc. James 1:5-11 Digression suggested by the thought of perfection. There can be no true perfection without wisdom, which is the gift of God, and must be sought from him. It is possible that the thought and connection of the passage is due to a reminiscence of Wis. 9:6, "For though a man be never so perfect (τέλειος) among the children of men, yet if thy wisdom be not with him, he shall be nothing regarded." But whether this be so or not, the teaching is manifestly founded on our Lord’s words with regard to prayer, Matthew 7:7, "Ask, and it shall be given you;" and Mark 11:23, "Have faith in God. Verily I say unto you, Whoever shall say … and shall not doubt (διακριθῇ) in his heart," etc. ΤοῦδιδόντοςΘεοῦ. The order of the words shows that God’s character is that of a Giver: "the giving God." His "nature and property" is to give as well as to forgive. Man often spoils his gifts, (1) by the grudging way in which they are given, and (2) by the reproaches which accompany them. God, on the contrary, gives to all (1) liberally, and (2) without upbraiding Ἁπλῶς: only here in the New Testament, but cf. ἁπλότης in Romans 12:8; 2 Corinthians 8:2; 2 Corinthians 9:11, 2 Corinthians 9:13. Vulgate, affluenter; A.V. and R.V., "liberally." It is almost equivalent to "without any arriere pensee." Μὴὀνειδίζοντος: cf. Ecclesiasticus 41:22, Μετὰτὸδοῦναιμὴὀνείδιζε James 1:6 The A.V. "nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea," is unfortunate, as suggesting a play upon the words which has no existence in the original. Render, with R.V., nothing doubting: for he that doubteth is like the surge of the sea. Κλύδων, the surge; ἀνεμιζόμενος and ῥιπιζόμενος both occur here only. James 1:7, James 1:8 The A.V., which makes James 1:8 an independent sentence, is certainly wrong. Render, Let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord, double-minded man that he is, unstable in all his ways. So Vulgate, Vir duplex animi, inconstans in omnibus viis. (The Clementine Vulgate, by reading est after inconstans, agrees with A.V) Another possible rendering is that of the R.V. margin, "Let not that man think that a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways, shall receive," etc. But the rendering given above is better. Double-minded; δίψυχος occurs only here and in James 4:8 in the New Testament. It is not found in any earlier writer, and was perhaps coined by St. James to represent the idea of the Hebrew, "an heart and an heart (בלֵוָ בלֵבְ)" (1 Chronicles 12:33). It took root at once in the vocabulary of ecclesiastical writers, being found three times in Clement of Rome, and frequently in his younger contemporary Hermas. St. James’s words are apparently alluded to in the Apost. Coust., VII. 11., Μὴγίνουδίψυχοςἐνπροσευχῇσουεἰἔσταιἢοὑ: and cf. Clem., ’Romans,’ c. 23. The same thought is also found in Ecclesiasticus 1:28, "Come not before him with a double heart (ἐνκαρδίᾳδίσοῃ)." Unstable; ἀκατάστατος, only here and (probably) James 3:8. James 1:9-11 A very difficult passage, three interpretations of which are given, none of them entirely satisfactory or free from difficulties. (1) "But let the brother of low degree glory in his high estate [i.e. his Christian dignity]; but let the rich [brother glory] in his humiliation" (i.e. in being poor of spirit, Matthew 5:3). (2) "But let the brother," etc. (as before); "but the rich man [rejoices] in his humiliation" (i.e. in what is really his degradation; cf. "whose glory is in their shame," Philippians 3:19). (3) "But let the brother,… but let the rich [grieve] in his humiliation." The ellipse of ταπεινούσθω in this last is very harsh and unexampled, so that the choice really lies between (1) and (2). And against (1) it may be urged (a) that the "rich" are never elsewhere spoken of as "brothers" in this Epistle. See James 2:6; James 5:1, and cf. the way in which they are spoken of in other parts of the New Testament (e.g. Luke 6:24; Matthew 19:23; Revelation 6:15); and in Ecclesiasticus 13:3; (b) that in verse 11 the thought is, not of riches which make to themselves wings and fly away, but of the rich man himself, who fades away; (c) that ταπείνωσις is elsewhere always used for external lowness of condition, not for the Christian virtue of humility (see Luke 1:48; Acts 8:33; Philippians 3:21). On the whole, therefore, it is best to adopt (2) and to supply the indicative: "but the rich man [not ’ brother’] glories in his humiliation;" i.e. he glories in what is really lowering. Because as the flower, etc. A clear reference to Isaiah 40:6, which is also quoted in 1 Peter 1:24. James 1:11 Ἀνέτειλεἐξήρανεἐξέπεσε … ἀπώλετο. Observe the aorists here and in James 1:24. The illustration or case mentioned by way of example is taken as an actual fact, and the apostle falls into the tone of narration. Render, For the sun arose with the scorching wind, and withered the grass; and the flower thereof fell away, and the grace of the fashion of it perished. Καύσων may refer to (1) the heat of the sun, or (2) more probably, the hot Samum wind, the מידִקָ of the Old Testament (Job 27:21; Ezekiel 17:10, etc). James 1:12-18 Return to the subject of temptation. James 1:2 taught that temptation regarded as an opportunity should be a cause for joy. James 1:12 teaches that the endurance of temptation brings a blessing from God, even the crown of life. Comp. Revelation 2:10, the only other place in the New Testament where the "crown of life" is mentioned; and there also it stands in close connection with the endurance of temptation. Elsewhere we read of the "crown of righteousness" (2 Timothy 4:8), and the "crown of glory" (1 Peter 5:4). The genitive (τὸνστέφανοντῆςζωῆς) is probably the gen. epex.," the crown, which is life." ὉΚύριος of the Received Text has but slight authority. It is wanting in A, B, à, ff, and is deleted by the Revisers, following all recent editors. Render, which he promised, etc. The subject is easily understood, and therefore, as frequently in Jewish writings (e.g. 1 Maccabees), omitted from motives of reverence. James 1:13 God is not the author of temptation; cf. Ecclesiasticus 15:11, 12, "Say not thou, It is through the Lord that I fell away: for thou oughtest not to do the things that he hateth. Say not thou, He hath caused me to err: for he hath no need of the sinful man." From God; ἀπὸΘεοῦ (the article is wanting in à, A, B, C, K, L). Contrast ὑπὸτῆςἰδίαςἐπιθυμίας. ἈπὸΘεοῦ is a more general expression than ὑπὸΘεοῦ, which would refer the temptation immediately to God. ἈπὸΘεοῦ is frequently used as a kind of adverb divinitus. Cannot be tempted; ἀπείραστος: an ἅπαξλεγόμενον. Syriac, "is not tempted with evils;" Vulgate, intentator malorum; R.V., "cannot be tempted of evil;" R.V. margin, "is untried in evil." Alford has a good note on this word, in which he points out that it has but two meanings: (1) that has not been tried; (2) that has not tried. The rendering of the Vulgate is thus etymologically possible, but is against the context. The use of the word may, perhaps, be extended somewhat wider than the renderings given above would allow, so that it may be paraphrased as "out of the sphere of evils" (Farrar). Neither tempteth he, etc. Here the writer has in his mind the conception of a direct temptation from God. Αὐτός is emphatic. Render with R.V., And he himself tempteth no man. James 1:14 states the true origin of temptation. While the occasion might be of God "in the order of his providence and of our spiritual training," the inclination is not of him. Compare with this verse the description of the harlot in Proverbs 7:6-27. Here lust is personified, and represented as a seducing harlot, to whose embraces man yields, and the result is the birth of sin, which in its turn gives birth to death. James 1:15 shows where temptation passes into sin. Ἐπιθυμία, lust, is clearly not in itself "true and proper sin," but it is no less clear that, as our Article IX. says it "hath of itself the nature of sin." With this whole passage we should compare St. Paul’s teaching on ἐπιθυμία, ἀμαρτιὰ, and θανατός, in Romans 7:7-11. Ἀποκύειν occurs only here and in Romans 7:18; translate, gendereth. James 1:16-18 The connection of thought with what goes before appears to be this. God cannot be the author of temptation, which thus leads to sin and death, because all good and perfect gifts, and these only, come from him. James 1:16 Do not err; better, be act deceived; μὴπλανᾶσθε. The same formula is also found in 1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Corinthians 15:1-58:83; Galatians 6:7. James 1:17 Every good gift, etc. The words form a hexameter verse, though this is probably accidental, and no sign that they are a quotation. Δόσις and δώρημα should be distinguished. "Every kind of gift that is good, and every one that is perfect in its kind" (Dean Scott). Δόσις and δῶρον occur together in the LXX. in Proverbs 21:14. They are expressly distinguished by Philo, who says that the latter involves the idea of magnitude and fullness, which is wanting to the former "Every good gift and every perfect boon, R.V. The Father of lights (ἀπὸτοῦΠατρὸςτῶνφώτων). The word must refer to the heavenly bodies, of which God may be said to be the Father, in that he is their Creator (for "Father," in the sense of Creator, cf. Job 38:28). From him who "made the stars also" comes down every good and perfect gift, and with him "there can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning." These last words appear to fix the meaning of φῶτα, as τροπή is used in the LXX. as in classical writers for the changes of the heavenly bodies (see Job 38:33; Deuteronomy 33:14; Wis. 7:18). Οὐκἔνι, "there is no room for." It negatives, not only the fact, but the possibility also (cf. Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:11). James 1:18 Begat; literally, brought forth; ἀπεκύησεν. The word has been already used of sin in James 1:15. The recurrence of it hero points to the connection of thought. The offspring of sin has been shown to be death. God, too, who is both Father and Mother (Bengel), has his offspring. But how different! Us (ημῦς). To whom does this refer? (1) To all Christians. (2) To Christians of the apostolic age. (3) To Jewish Christians, to whom the Epistle is specially addressed. Probably (3). Just as Israel of old was Jehovah’s firstborn (Exodus 4:22), so now the germ of the Christian Church, as found in these Judaeo-Christian communities, was to be "a kind of firstfruits." The thought may be illustrated from a striking parallel in Philo (’De Creat. Princ.’): ΤὸσύμπανἸουδαίωνἔθνος … τοῦσύμπαντοςἀνθρώπωνγένουςἀπενεμηυηοἷατιςἀπαρχήτῷποιῃτῇπατρί. Transfer this from the Jewish to the Judaeo-Christian communities, and we have the very thought of the apostle. By the word of truth (cf. 1 Peter 1:23, where, as here, the new birth is connected with the Word of God). A kind of firstfruits of his creatures (ἀπαρχή). The image is taken from the wave sheaf, the firstfruits of the harvest, the earnest of the crop to follow. St. Paul (according to a very possible reading) has the same figure in 2 Thessalonians 2:13, "God chose you as firstfruits (ἀπαρχήν);" see R.V. margin. Elsewhere he applies it to Christ, "the Firstfruits of them that are asleep" (1 Corinthians 15:20). "His creatures (κτισμάτων)." It does not appear to be absolutely necessary to extend the use of this word so as to include the irrational creation as well as mankind. הידב is frequently used in rabbinical writings for the Gentile world, and κτίσμα may be given the same meaning here, and perhaps κτίσις in Mark 16:15; Romans 8:19, etc.; Colossians 1:23. James 1:19-27 (1) TO HEAR RATHER THAN TO SPEAK, (2) NOT ONLY TO HEAR, BUT ALSO TO DO. James 1:19 The text requires correction. For ὥστε … ἔστωπᾶς of the Textus Receptus, read, Ἴστεἀδελφοίμοιἀγαπητοιἔστωδὲπᾶς, à, A, B, C, Latt. Ἴστε is probably indicative, and refers to what has gone before. "Ye know this, my beloved brethren. But let every man," etc. The verse gives us St. James’s version of the proverb, "Speech is silver. Silence is golden." Similar maxims were not infrequent among the Jews. So in Ecclesiasticus 5:11, "Be swift to hear; and let thy life be sincere; and with patience give answer;" cf. 4:29, "Be not hasty in thy tongue, and in thy deeds slack and remiss." In the rabbinical work, ’Pirqe Aboth,’ 1. 12., we have the following saying of Rabbi Simeon, the son of Gamaliel (who must, therefore, have been a contemporary of St. James): "All my days I have grown up amongst the wise, and have not found ought good for a man but silence; not learning but doing is the groundwork; and whoso multiplies words occasions sin." This passage is curiously like the one before us, both in the thoughts and in the expressions used. James 1:20 Gives the reason why men should be slow to wrath. Because man’s wrath does not work God’s righteousness δικαιοσύνηνΘεοῦ), the righteousness which God demands and requires. James 1:21 With the form of expression in this verse, comp. 1 Peter 2:1, "Putting away, therefore, all wickedness (ἀποθέμενοιοὗνπᾶσανκακίαν), and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil-speakings, as new-born babes long for the spiritual milk," etc. Filthiness (ῥυπαρὶαν). Here only in the New Testament, never in LXX.; but the adjective ῥυπαρός is the word used of the "filthy garments" in Zechariah 3:3, Zechariah 3:4—a narrative which illustrates the passage before us. Kakía is not vice in general, but rather that vicious nature which is bent on doing harm to others (see Lightfoot on Colossians 3:8). Thus the two words ῥυπαρία and κακία comprise two classes of sins—the sensual and the malignant, Engrafted; rather, implanted. The word is only found again in Wis. 12:10, where it signifies "inborn." St. James’s teaching here is almost like a reminiscence of the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:3, etc). The "implanted Word" is the gospel teaching. "The seed is the Word of God" (Luke 8:11). James 1:22 They are not merely to receive and hear the Word; they must also act upon it. Compare St. Paul’s teaching in Romans 2:13, "For not the hearers (ἀκροαταὶ) of a law are just before God, but the doers of a law shall be justified." Ἀκροατής occurs nowhere else except in these passages. Deceiving your own selves (παραλογίζειν); to lead astray by false reasonings; only here and in Colossians 2:4. Not uncommon in the LXX. James 1:23, James 1:24 Illustration from life, showing the folly of being led astray. His natural face (τὸπρόσωποντῆςγενέσεωςαὐτοῦ); literally, the face of his birth. The expression is an unusual one, but there is no doubt of its meaning. In a glass; rather, in a mirror, ἐνἐσόπτρῳ: cf. 1 Corinthians 13:12, Δἰἐσόπτρου. The mirror of burnished brass. James 1:24 Observe the tenses; literally, He considered (κατενόησε) himself, and has gone away (ἀπελήλυθε), and straightway forgot (ἐπελάθετο) what he was like (compare note on James 1:11). James 1:25 Application of the illustration in the form of a contrast. Looketh into (παρακύψας). For the literal sense of the word, see John 20:5, John 20:11; Luke 24:12. The figurative meaning occurs only here and in 1 Peter 1:12. Properly it signifies to "peep into." See its use in the LXX., Genesis 26:8; Proverbs 7:6; Ecclesiasticus 21:23. When used figuratively, it conveys the idea of looking into, but scarcely with that intensive force which is often given to it and for which ἐγκύπτειν would be required. Its use in St. Peter, loc. cit., is easy enough to explain. Angels desire even a glimpse of the mysteries. But what are we to say of its use hero? Is it that, though the man took a good look at himself in the glass (κατανοεῖν, consider, is a very strong word; cf. Romans 4:19), yet he forgot what he was like, while the man who only peeps into the law of liberty is led on to abide (παραμείνας) and so to act? The perfect law of liberty; rather, the perfect law, even the law of liberty; νόμοντέλειοντὸντῆςἐλευθερίας. The substantive is anarthrous, yet the attributive has the article. This construction serves to give greater prominence to the attributive, and requires the rendering given above (see Winer, § 20.4). The conception of the gospel as a "law" is characteristic of St. James (cf. James 2:8, "the royal law," and James 4:11). A forgetful hearer (ἀκροατὴςἐπιλησμονής); i.e. a hearer characterized by forgetfulness, contrasted with ποιητὴςἐργοῦ, a doer characterized by work. James 1:26 Seem (δοκεῖ); seems to himself rather than to others; translate, with R.V., thinketh himself to be. Vulgate, Si quis Putat se esse. Religious (θρῆσκος). It is difficult to find an English word which exactly answers to the Greek. The noun θρησκεία refers properly to the external rites of religion, and so gets to signify an over-scrupulous devotion to external forms (Lightfoot on Colossians 2:18); almost "ritualism." It is the ceremonial service of religion, the external forms, a body of which εὐσεβεία is the informing soul. Thus the θρῆσκος (the word apparently only occurs here in the whole range of Greek literature) is the diligent performer of Divine offices, of the outward service of God, but not necessarily anything more. This depreciatory sense of θρησκεία is well seen in a passage of Philo (’Quod Det. Pot. ’Jus.,’ 7), where, after speaking of some who would fain be counted among the εὐλαβεῖς on the score of diverse washings or costly offerings to the temple, he proceeds: Πεπλάνηταιγὰρκαὶοὖτοςτῆςπρὸςεὐσεβείανὁδοῦθρησκείανἀντὶὁσιότητοςἡγούμενος (see Trench on ’Synonyms,’ from whom the reference is here taken). "How delicate and fine, then, St. James’s choice of θρῆσκος and θρησκεία! ’If any man,’ he would say, ’seem to himself to be θρῆσκος, a diligent observer of the offices of religion, if any man would render a pure and undefiled θρησκεία to God, let him know that this consists, not in outward lustrations or ceremonial observances; nay, that there is a better θρησκεία than thousands of rams and rivers of oil, namely, to do justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with his God (Micah 6:7, Micah 6:8); or, according to his own words, ’ to visit the widows and orphans in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world’". Bridleth not (μὴχαλιναγωγῶν). The thought is developed more fully afterwards (see James 3:2, etc., and for the word, cf. Polyc., ’Ad Philippians,’ c.v). James 1:27 God and the Father; rather, our God and Father. The article (τῷ) binds together Θεῷ and Πατρί, so that they should not be separated, as in the A.V. To visit the fatherless … and to keep himself unspotted. Observe that our duty towards our fellow-men is placed first; then that towards ourselves. Ἐπισκέπτεσθαι is the regular word for visiting the sick; cf. Ecclesiasticus 7:35, "Be not slow to visit the sick (μὴὄκειἐπισκέτεσπθαιἀῤῥωστον)." The fatherless and widows (ὀρφανοὺςκαὶχήρας). These stand here (as so often in the Old Testament) as types of persons in distress; the "personae miserabiles" of the Canon Law (see e.g. Deuteronomy 10:18; Psalms 68:5; Psalms 82:3; Isaiah 1:17; and cf. Ecclesiasticus 4:10). "Be as a father unto the fatherless, and instead of an husband unto their mother; so shalt thou be as the son of the Most High, and he shall love thee more than thy mother doth." To keep himself unspotted. Man’s duty towards himself. (For ἄσπιλον, cf. 1 Timothy 6:14; 1 Peter 1:19; 2 Peter 3:14) From the world. This clause may be connected either with τηρεῖν or with ἄσπιλον, as in the phrase, καθαρὸςἀπὸ in Acts 20:26. Temptation as cause for joy. What a reversal of the ordinary view, which regards trial and temptation as an unwelcome visitation! Prosperity is the blessing of the old covenant, adversity is the blessing of the new. Temptations should be regarded, not only as probations, i.e. as testing what we are, but as designed also for moral discipline and improvement. The character that has never been tried may be innocent, but it is liable to be crushed. It is lacking in the strength and vigor, which come from the formed habit of resistance, and therefore temptation may be the means of strengthening him who is subjected to it. It thus becomes an opportunity, and as such should be welcomed with joy. It produces patience, that "queen of virtues," which bears up under the heaviest weight, and purifies and ennobles the whole character. Patience must next be allowed her "perfect work;" for the Christian can never consider himself τέλειος till he has come "to the perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." "Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head." (Shakespeare) (On temptation regarded as an opportunity, see Mozley’s ’Parochial Sermons,’ Sermon 2) James 1:5-8 The need of wisdom which Holy Scripture never, without a touch of irony, ascribes to any but God and good men, and which, therefore, is not merely intellectual wisdom, but rather that practical knowledge of things Divine which can enable a man to say with the psalmist, "I am wiser than the aged, because I keep thy commandments." This it is, and not intellect and brilliancy, which is here promised to be given to all that ask in faith. (All through Scripture the use of the terms "wise" and "foolish" should be noticed. It is the "fool" who said in his heart, "There is no God." They are "fools" who make a mock at sin. The "wise" who shall "shine as the brightness of the firmament" are parallel with those "who turn many to righteousness," etc). 2. The reason why so many prayers remain unanswered. Man too often betakes himself to prayer as a dernier ressort when all other means have failed, hoping against hope, not entirely disbelieving and yet not entirely believing; now buoyed up for a moment with hope, and now again sinking into the depths of despair. To such a one there is not merely no promise; we are especially told that be is not to think that he will receive anything from the Lord. "A doubtful petitioner offers not to God a steady hand or heart, so that God cannot deposit in it his gift" (Stier). "Faith and unfaith can ne’er be equal powers; Unfaith in aught is want of faith in all." (Tennyson) James 1:9-12 The only true ground for boasting. High and low, rich and poor, can glory in their Christian exaltation. "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ," said St. Paul; and, referring to that same cross, the Savior said, "I, if I he lifted up, will draw all men unto me." Thus the cross forms part of the "lifting up," the "exaltation" in which the Christian is to glory. "Per crucem ad lucem." Our Christian privileges cannot be separated from our Christian sufferings. In both alike we are to rejoice and glory. James 1:13-18 The genesis of sin. 1. Four stages are described. (1) The desire—the appetite draws the man towards evil indulgence. (2) The will yields to the desire, which thus becomes pregnant with action. (3) Sin is born, the offspring of the unhallowed union between will and desire or lust. (4) Lastly, sin, "when it is full grown, bringeth forth death". "First there cometh into the mind a bare thought of evil, then a strong imagination thereof, afterwards delight, and evil motion, and then consent. And so little by little our wicked enemy getteth complete entrance, for that he is not resisted at the beginning" (Thomas a Kempis). 2. God is not tempted with evil, and he doth not temps to evil. "Ascribe it not to the Father of lights, but to the prince of darkness. But ascribe all good, from the smallest spark to the greatest beam, from the least good giving to the best and most perfect gift of all, to him, the Father of lights’. If there can be no change with the Father of lights, no "shadow east by turning," what folly to suppose that the works of darkness come from him! Temptation may be regarded (1) as a test to prove a man; (2) as a discipline to improve him; (3) as an allurement to entice him. In the two former aspects it has been already treated of by the apostle, and has been shown to be a cause for joy. As an allurement it can have no power, unless it meets with some response in man. Thus man has no right to charge his sins upon God, or to make God the author of his temptations. The outward occasion may indeed be from him, sent either as a test or a discipline; but the inward inclination, that which leads a man away and entices him, is entirely evil. Deeds, not words. 1. The right spirit for the Christian is the receptive; ready to hear, and to receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is to be as the seed falling on the good ground (comp. Matthew 13:3, etc). A heathen philosopher has noted that man has two ears and only one mouth; showing that he should be more ready to hear than to speak. 2. A receptive spirit is not alone sufficient. Action must follow. Holy Scripture is a mirror, in which a man may see his own image reflected. The man who merely listens to it sees his own likeness, perhaps, but "goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was." Without doing, what is the good of hearing sermons? Knowledge without obedience only increases condemnation. So our Lord’s severest denunciations were for those cities which had known most of his mighty works; and "many stripes" were reserved for that servant who knew his Lord’s will and did it not (Luke 12:47). (On the subject of Jas 1:22, see a good sermon of Bishop Andrews, ’Sermons,’ vol. 5. Serm. 9) 3. Government of tongue may serve as a test of a man’s religion, it being "a most material restraint which religion lays us under; without it no man can be truly religious." Sins of the tongue include not only such flagrant ones as lying, swearing, filthy conversation, etc., but what Bishop Butler calls "unrestrained volubility and wantonness of speech," which is the sin more particularly alluded to by St. James, and which is "the occasion of numberless evils and vexations in life." "If people would (1) observe the obvious occasions of silence; if they would subdue (2) the inclination to tale-bearing, and (3) that eager desire to engage attention which is an original disease in some minds, they would be in little danger of offending with their tongue, and would, in a moral and religious sense, have due government over it" (Bishop Butler. See the whole sermon ’On the Government of the Tongue:’ ’Sermons,’ No. 4). It has been well said that the talkative often do more harm than the willfully false and malicious. They betray secrets, part friends, embitter foes, wound hearts, blight characters, hinder truth. Is not this true of many a man who seems to himself to be religions? 4. If the external service, the ritual of Christianity, is a life of purity and self-devotion in the service of others, what must its inmost spirit be? BY C. JERDAN James 1:1-4 A joyful salutation for a time of adversity. James, in the opening sentence of his letter, "wisheth joy" to the Christian Jews who were scattered over the Roman world (verse 1). He knew that they were environed with adversity; they suffered from the persecution of the heathen, and from the upbraidings of their unbelieving countrymen. Yet his loving, sympathetic heart wishes them joy even in all time of their tribulation. I. THE SHOULD REJOICE AMIDST TRIALS. (Verse 2) It was natural that the readers of the Epistle, when they received this counsel, should ask how they could reasonably be expected to do so. 1. This is possible. Only, however, to the Christian. The worldly-minded man will regard such a suggestion as unnatural, and indeed unintelligible. The Stoic, when plunged into adversity, can at best only school himself to submit to inevitable fate. The Epicurean becomes quite helpless in presence of calamity. Only the man who holds the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ possesses the alchemy by which sorrow may be turned into joy. 2. It is dutiful. To rejoice amidst trials is in the line of all Christian knowledge and faith and hope. The believer knows that God is his Father, and that he "pitieth his children." He is sure that God’s arrangements for him must be absolutely the best. He is persuaded that, although God chastises his sons, he has still the heart of a Father. Not only do tribulation and distress not separate the believer from the Divine love; they work for him "more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory." So it belongs to the afflicted Christian to adorn in his own experience this paradox of the renewed life—"Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing." 3. It is often exemplified. Only, however, in the most exalted ranks of the peerage of faith. Moses "accounted the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt." Paul sang hymns to God in the prison of Philippi, although his feet were fast in the stocks. The apostles "rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for Christ’s name." Latimer closed his brave career at the stake with the famous words, "Be of good comfort, Master Ridley." Bunyan lay for twelve years in an execrable prison, but he made his cell the vestibule of heaven. Dr. Arnold could say, between the paroxysms of angina pectoris, "Thank God for pain." And from thousands of death-beds, of which the world has never heard, there has gone forth the testimony of God’s hidden ones: "We glory in tribulations also." II. THE REASONS FOR SUCH . These may be reckoned. Verses 3 and 4 supply a basis of judgment. 1. Trial promotes self-knowledge. It is "the proof of your faith" (verse 3). It tests the reality and the strength of character. The person who stands on the deck of a sinking ship will learn, if he did not know it before, whether he is a hero or a coward. Affliction shows a man "all that is in his heart." The strain caused by some unexpected calamity may reveal defects of character which he would not otherwise discover, or possibilities of holy attainment about which he might never have dreamed. 2. It develops patience. (Verse 3) James, throughout his Epistle, exalts and inculcates this grace. His word for it here means "persevering endurance." Christian patience is not the submission of indifference, or merely the determination of an obstinate will; it is inspired by living piety, and is therefore full of intelligence and manliness. Patience consists in the holding still of some parts of our nature in calm waiting upon the Divine will, in order that other parts may be exercised and educated. The apostle’s words show that he regards this grace of endurance as inexpressibly precious. He looks upon its possessor as in the truest sense a wise and wealthy man. The man who uses every fresh trial in such a way as only to increase his power of holy endurance is unspeakably a gainer by his calamities, and should receive the congratulations ("greeting") of his brethren rather than their sympathy. 3. It contributes to moral perfection. (Verse 4) This is the end which God has in view in all his dealings with his people. He wants them to be "perfect and entire;" that is, complete and all-accomplished in spiritual culture. Now, the habit of persevering and joyful endurance conduces to the maturity and the symmetry of the soul. Sanctified trial educates. Some of the most refined Christian virtues—such, e.g., as resignation and sympathy-can be acquired only in connection with affliction. A delicately balanced Christian spirit is not the outcome of a smooth and unruffled life. life character can approximate in finish to the ideal standard which does not "come out of the great tribulation," and which is not made "perfect through sufferings." This thought is emphasized everywhere in the New Testament, from the Gospels to the Apocalypse. It has interpenetrated all literature. Our life must be "battered with the shocks of doom, to shape and use." "’Tis sorrow builds the shining ladder up," on which our souls climb nearer God. Notice in conclusion: 1. While it is positively unchristian to murmur amid trials, the model Christian frame is not mere submission. 2. It is very comforting to the believer to know that his crosses are sent to promote his perfection. 3. The child of God has here a crucial test of the measure of his spiritual attainment.—C.J. Wisdom for those who ask it. The apostle has just been saying that the trials and burdens of life should conduce, if wisely borne, to the purifying of the believing soul, the bracing of its moral energies, and the perfecting of its spiritual life. But how hard it is to bear severe afflictions thus wisely! Every one needs a wisdom above his own, who would "count manifold trials all joy," and "let patience have its perfect work." I. A WASTE. (James 1:5) Wisdom means the right use of knowledge. A man may know a very great deal, and yet not be a wise man. Wisdom classifies the materials of knowledge, and studies to use them so as to build up and beautify the life. It proposes right ends, and chooses the best means by which to reach them. It shows itself not so much in doing the right thing, as in doing it at the proper time. In the highest use of the word, "wisdom" is just another name for piety. It is that state of mind and heart which is produced by the believing reception of gospel truth. The one fool of the Bible is the sinner. The only wise man is he who regards the glory of God as the end of his life, and who makes his acts and habits means to that end. Now, we all naturally lack wisdom, and a thoughtful man realizes this lack most thoroughly in the time of trial. What a rare and difficult attainment is that holy discretion which can welcome even the contrary winds of calamity, and the driving storms of tribulation, because it can make them helpful in steering joyfully towards the desired haven! II. AN SOURCE OF SUPPLY. "God, who giveth to all" (James 1:5); literally, "the giving God." The living, loving Jehovah is the one Source and Fountain of wisdom. That is one of his essential attributes; and it is his prerogative to impart it to his creatures. He gives the Holy Spirit to work wisdom in the hearts of believers. Now, the God of wisdom is the Giver of all good things. His resources are infinite, and his gifts are universal and unceasing. In his common providence he imparts blessings to all his creatures—to the barnacle that clings to the rocks, and to the archangel that ministers before the throne. And he is "the giving God" in grace also. "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not also with him freely give us all things?" So he is ready to bestow wisdom at all times, and especially in the day of trial; he waits to impart to every devout sufferer a wealth of holy patience and of spiritual joy. And the giving God gives liberally and unreproachingly. It is his characteristic habit to be exceedingly bountiful. III. AS EASY METHOD OF . "Let him ask, and it shall be given him" (James 1:5). Holy wisdom is not the result merely of thought or speculation. No Aristotelian or Baconian method can produce it. No habit of sullen, dogged Stoicism reveals its presence. It is to be had from God, and for the asking. God is the living God, and he is very near us; and we, his children, have the freest access to him. He gives "simply" to those who pray simply. He bestows "liberally" upon those who petition liberally. It is his way "to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think." When Solomon asked only for wisdom, God gave him riches and honor too. When the prodigal requests only the place of a hired servant, his Father assures him of the station and honor of a beloved son. The Lord always gives liberally; never with a grudge—never ungraciously. He always gives with his heart when he opens his hand. Does the consciousness of much personal guilt make any of us slow to "ask of God"? Does our past neglect or abuse of his gifts deprive us of childlike confidence in coming to him? Then let us remember that he "upbraideth not." What a sweet word is that! It limns for our comfort a most touching trait of the character of the giving God. How unlike he is to human benefactors! Instead of reproaching the returning prodigal, he welcomes him with kisses of love. God upbraids no one for his great ignorance, or for his enormous guilt, or for his repeated backslidings, or for his long delay, or for making himself a last resource, or for coming too often, or for asking too much. How easy this God-appointed method of obtaining wisdom! We have only to "ask, and it shall be given" us. And how great the encouragement! "God giveth to all liberally, and upbraideth not." IV. AN TO SUCCESS. (James 1:6-8) Prayer is not real unless it be the expression of faith. It must issue "from a living source within the will," and be inspired by perfect confidence in God’s readiness to help. How much unbelief prevails in our time on the subject of prayer! The scientific temper of the age merely allows a man to "pray to God, if there be a God—to save his soul, if he have a soul." And the forcible words of James, in these three verses, suggest that still, in the case of very many Christians, an imperfect faith in God’s readiness to respond to their prayers is one of the greatest defects of their spiritual life. We are apt, even, to speak of evident answers to prayer as unusual, and—when they do occur—as remarkable. Now, the gift of wisdom is promised only to him who asks it with a steady faith, and who evinces the reality of his faith by a life of consistent purpose. God our Father demands the confidence of his children. "Nothing doubting" should be the Christian’s motto in prayer. The petitioner must not shift backwards and forwards between faith and doubt, like a tumbling billow of the sea. He must not swing like a pendulum between cheerful confidence and dark suspicion. It must be his fixed persuasion that God is, and that he is the Hearer of prayer. He must expect an answer to his supplications, and be ready to mark the time and mode of it; else he may rest assured that no answer will come. Transient emotions are not religion. It is the men and women within whom faith is the dominant power who take the kingdom of heaven by force. God is all simplicity himself, and he gives with simplicity; so he can have no sympathy with an unstable, double-souled man. A mind that continually vacillates in its choice will be prone in the end to fail in both the purposes between which it has hesitated. Certainly it will not obtain that Divine wisdom which every human heart so greatly needs for the exigencies of adversity. Steadfast faith, and that alone, will give a man singleness of eye, make him strong to keep hold of the angel of the covenant, and draw down upon him the richest blessings of gospel grace.—C.J. The poor and the rich brother. The counsels contained in these verses spring out of the general exhortation of Jas 1:2. Riches and poverty are among the "manifold trials" which the subjects of them are to "count all joy." This passage has also a real connection with James 1:8, as the introductory conjunction in the original shows. The connection may be either in the thought that the love of money is a prevailing source of" double-mindedness;" or, that the comparison of one’s own outward circumstances with those of one’s neighbor may tend, apart from grace, towards spiritual unsteadiness rather than Christian simplicity. I. TWO SPECIAL FORMS OF TRIAL. (James 1:9, James 1:10) There are found together in the Church, as well as in the world outside," the rich brother" and "the brother of low degree." Everywhere inequalities obtain among men, which are of the Lord’s appointing. He gives to one man larger intellectual possibilities than to another. In his providence he places one man in a more favorable position than another for the development of his energies. Fortunes vary according to abilities and opportunities, as well as in connection with causes which entail personal responsibility. Now, "the brother of low degree" finds his poverty a trial. It tries his body, by exhausting it with labor. It tries his mind, by placing obstacles in the way of his acquiring knowledge. It tries his heart, by limiting narrowly his enjoyment of the luxury of giving. It tries his temper, by wearing out his patience and inclining him to be fretful and satirical. But "the rich brother" has his trials also, arising out of his riches. The temptations of wealth are more serious, because more subtle, than those of poverty. The rich man’s mind is often distracted with care; he finds that "a great fortune is a great slavery." Or, he may suffer the weariness and misery of ennui. Especially is he in danger of allowing his spiritual life to become corrupted by his abundance. A wealthy man is prone to grow high-minded and self-sufficient. He has to contend against the inveterate tendency of our fallen nature to abuse prosperity. When Jeshurun the upright "waxes fat," he is apt to "kick," i.e. to become self-willed, petulant, insolent, and neglectful of God. A rich man needs special grace to make and keep him a Christian. II. How TO TRIUMPH OVER THE TRIAL OF POVERTY. (James 1:9) The apostle, in using here the term "brother," supplies a hint as to the secret of patience and joy under this form of trial. A Christian man may be "of low degree," but he is all the same a "brother." Straitened resources are no barrier, but the reverse, to the love and sympathy of the Lord Jesus; and they should be no barrier to that of his people. Well, the Christian who is in humble life is to "glory in his high estate." He is to accustom his mind to the thought of his exaltation as a believer. He has a real dignity: he is rich toward God. He belongs to the Divine family. "His elder Brother is a King, and hath a kingdom bought for him." He moves already in the best and blessedest society; and he is an heir of the heavenly inheritance. Angel-guardians minister to him, and use the very trial of poverty as a means of investing him with the true riches. What a blessed antidote is there in these things to the ills of penury! III. How TO TRIUMPH OVER THE TRIAL OF RICHES. (James 1:10) The "rich" man here means a wealthy man who is a Christian "brother." There were a very few such persons in the membership of the early Church. Now, to the Christian who is wealthy, his very wealth is a God-sent trial. He is apt to make his material resources a ground of glorying or boasting. But James says here that the rich believer ought to boast "in that he is made low." Although a rich man, let him strive to be "poor in spirit." It is not necessary, at least in ordinary circumstances, that he divest himself of all his goods for Christ’s sake. Rather is it desirable that the capital which drives the wheels of our commerce should be in the hands of Christian men, provided they use it aright. But the rich believer should give very liberally out of his profits. He should be a servant of servants to his brethren. He should constantly remember the Divine Giver of his prosperity; and, finding that it is hard to carry the full cup steadily, he should pour it out before the Lord. The greatest honor that can attach to the rich man is that he be a humble Christian. Humility is in his case particularly beautiful and becoming. In spiritual things he is a pensioner upon the charity of Heaven equally with other men. When he realizes his own guilt and sin, he ought to feel the more humbled that Providence is filling his lap out of the horn of plenty. Let him exult in the grace of Christ which has enabled him to pass through "the needle’s eye." And let him realize how transient and perishable all earthly riches are. "As the flower of the grass he shall pass away." Some providence may suddenly strip him bare of all his wealth. And at least he will not be able to carry it with him into the next world. Therefore, let him not glory in his outward possessions. The rich Christian brother will triumph over the trial of material prosperity by glorying is his humiliation as sharing with the lowliest the true riches. IV. THE DOOM OF THE UNGODLY RICH. (Verses 10, 11) Although these verses speak directly of the blight which may fall upon the wealth of a Christian man, yet this other thought is suggested none the less. A believer may so use his wealth as to help him towards heaven (Luke 16:9); but an evil rich man will do the very reverse. Material possessions are uncertain and perishable; and the man who joins on his life to them, and identifies his being with them, must inevitably perish, as they do. The sirocco-blast of the eternal storm shall wither up both the "grass" and the "flower." "The rich man shall fade away in his goings," i.e. when engrossed with his commercial journeys and purposes. The wealthy farmer shall be summoned from the world when he is drawing out the plans of his enlarged premises. He shall stumble out into eternity a fool (Luke 12:20). "He is like the beasts that perish" (Psalms 49:1-20). Learn from this subject that neither poverty nor wealth is anything more than a circumstance in a man’s life. Each of these conditions brings its blessings and its burdens. Each "doth place us proximate to sin, to suffer the contagion." But a man may through grace rise to equally great attainments in spiritual culture and in purity of life, whether he be very poor or very rich, or possessed of that moderate competency—less perilous than either extreme—for which Agur prayed (Proverbs 30:8).—C.J. James 1:12-15 The natural history of evil. In the previous part of the chapter James has spoken of "temptation" in the general sense of "trial," and as coming mainly in connection with outward circumstances. In this passage he proceeds to speak of it in the sense in which the word is now ordinarily used, as meaning only internal trial by solicitation to sin. Verse 12 marks the transition from the one sense to the other, and predicates "blessedness" of "the man that endureth temptation" in either form. I. THE GENESIS OF . (Verses 13, 14) The sacred writers very rarely deal in such abstract psychological analysis as we have in this passage. These verses remind us that there is natural history in the moral world as well as in the physical—"the law of sin and of death" as well as "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus." There are two conflicting theories always prevalent regarding the origin and development of temptation. 1. The false theory. (Verse 13) Men are prone to ascribe the authorship of temptation to God. This heresy is as old as the garden of Eden and the Fall. Our first parents blamed God for the first sin. And the world has adopted the same excuse, in various forms, ever since. Systems of philosophy have done so. Pantheism, for example, says that man is only a mode of the Divine existence, and that good is God’s right hand, while evil is his left, Fatalism teaches that all events—good and evil—come to pass under the operation of a blind necessity. Materialism in our day regards the vilest passions of bad men and the holiest aspirations of believers as alike only products of our physical organism. And the same dreadful error prevails equally in common life. Superstitious persons, from the time of James until ours, have had the impression that their misdeeds are necessitated by the Divine decrees. Some blame their nature for their sins, and ascribe to their Maker the origination of their corrupt propensities, as the poet Burns did once and again in lines of daring blasphemy. Others trace their sins to their circumstances, blaming God’s providence for surrounding them with evil influences, which, they submit, lay them under an inevitable necessity of sinning. But the apostle advances reason and argument against this impious theory. Think, he says, of the purity and perfection of the Divine nature. Moral evil has no place in God. There is nothing in him that temptation can take hold of. And if he is not himself open to the seductions of sin, it is impossible that he can be a tempter of others. God is the infinite Light, and sin is darkness. God is the eternal Righteousness, and sin is crookedness. God is the unchangeable Beauty, and sin is deformity. So, he will not and cannot solicit men towards what is opposed to his own nature. He tries and tests men; but he does not tempt them. He does not cause sin; he simply permits it. When we pray, as Christ has taught us to do, "Bring us not into temptation," we beg that God may not in his providence place us in circumstances from which our hearts may take occasion to sin. 2. The true theory. (Verse 14) Temptation originates within the heart of the sinner himself. It is in vain for him to blame his Maker. Sin is no part of our original constitution, and it is not to be excused on the plea of an unfavorable environment. A man sins only when he is "enticed" by the bait, and "drawn away" by the hook of "his own lust." That is, the impelling power which seduces towards evil is the corrupt nature within us. The world and the devil only tempt effectually when they stir up the filthy pool of depraved personal desire. "Lust" includes, besides the appetites of the body, the evil dispositions of the mind, such as pride, malice, envy, vanity, love of ease, etc. Any appeal made from without to these vile principles and affections can be successful only with the consent of the will. Every man is personally responsible for his sin; fur each man’s sin takes its rise in "his own lust." Conscience brushes away the cobwebs of the false theory, and assures us all that we are "merely our own traitors." Only one Man has ever lived within whose soul there was no hook or bait of corrupt desire on which any evil suggestion could fasten; and no one but he could say, "The prince of the world cometh, and he hath nothing in me." II. THE OF SIN. (Verse 15) "Lust" is throughout this passage personified in allegorical fashion as a harlot, ever striving, like the harlot Folly of Pro 9:13-18, to allure and captivate the will. First, she draws the man "who goes right on his way" out of the path of sound principle and wholesome pleasure; and then she entices him into her embrace with the siren strain, "Stolen waters are sweet." Lust may be said to "conceive," when it obtains the consent of the will, or disarms its opposition. The man who dallies with temptation, instead of meeting it with instant and prayerful resistance, will be sure eventually to succumb to it. From the guilty union of lust with the will, a living sin is born. The embryo corruption becomes developed into a deed of positive transgression. And this is not all. Sin, the progeny of lust, itself grows up from the infancy of mere choice to the adult life of settled habit; and "when it is full-grown," it in turn becomes, as the result of union with the will, the mother of death. It was so with the sin of our first parents in Paradise. It was so with the sin of Achan (Joshua 7:21); he saw, coveted, took, and died. It is so with the sin of licentiousness, which has suggested the figure of this passage; the physical corruption which the practice of sensuality entails is just a sacrament of spiritual death. Death is the fruit of all sin. Sin kills peace; it kills hope; it kills usefulness; it kills the conscience; it kills the soul. The harlot-house of lust and sin becomes the vestibule of perdition. As Milton has it, in a well-known passage of bk. 2. of ’Paradise Lost’—a passage suggested by this very verse—Sin is "The snaky sorceress that sat Fast by hell-gate, and kept the fatal key;" while Death, her son, is "the grizzly Terror" on the other side, which stood "Fierce as ten furies, terrible as hell." III. THE GLORY HIM WHO ENDURES. (Proverbs 9:12) This comfortable word reminds us of the Beatitudes. The blessedness of which it speaks belongs not only to all Christians who—" letting patience have its perfect work "—endure "temptations" in the sense in which the word is used in Proverbs 9:2, but to all also who escape victorious from the solicitations of evil desire, referred to in the verses which we have been considering. Notice here: 1. The character of the blessed man. He "loves the Lord," and in the spirit of this love he "endures temptation." Love is the substance of the Christian character, and love "endureth all things." Love alone will enable a man to stamp out lust. 2. His glorious reward. "He shall receive the crown of life." Not a chaplet of parsley, not even a diadem of gold; but a crown composed of life. Eternal life itself will be the believer’s reward. Temptation unresisted, as we have seen, is always pregnant with sin and death; but holy endurance entails upon one the gracious reward of spiritual life, which shall be confirmed in spotless purity forever and ever. This glorious blessing is guaranteed; the believer has for it a definite warranty from his Redeemer. 3. The time and condition of its bestowal. It is "when he hath been approved;" i.e. tested as gold or silver in the white heat of the refiner’s fire. The one way to the kingdom is the way of persevering endurance. "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life." LESSONS. 1. Flee from spiritual death. 2. Crucify sin. 3. Mortify lust. 4. Cultivate the grace of endurance. 5. Watch and pray against outward occasions of evil. 6. Sprinkle the conscience with the blood of atonement, and wash the soul in the laver of regeneration.—C.J. James 1:16, James 1:17 All good is from God. The exhortation of Jas 1:16 introduces additional confirmation of the truth that God cannot tempt men to sin. He is the Author of all good. He not only abhors evil, but from him come those gracious influences which destroy it. Three shades of thought appear in the argument of Jas 1:17. I. HIS GIFTS. Each of these is "perfect" in its matter, and "good" in the manner of its bestowal. While raw sins (James 1:14) and ripe sins (James 1:15) alike spring from one’s "own lust," "every good gift and every perfect boon is from above." All temporal blessings come from God; and even in this lower province his bounty is supreme. But especially he is the Author of all spiritual blessings—every good gift of grace, and every perfect boon of glory. Jesus Christ came down from heaven. This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/pulpit-commentary/ James 2:1-13 WARNING AGAINST RESPECT OF PERSONS. James 2:1 The translation is doubtful, two renderings being possible. (1) That of the A.V. and R.V., "Hold not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons." (2) That of the R.V. margin and Westcott and Hort, "Do ye, in accepting persons, hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory?" According to this view, the section commences with a question, as does the following one, James 2:14. According to the former view, which is on the whole preferable, it is parallel to James 3:1. The faith of our Lord. "The faith" here may be either (1) objective (tides quae creditur), as in the Epistle of St. Jud James 1:3, James 1:20; or (2) subjective (tides qua creditur), "Have the faith which believes in," etc.. Our Lord Jesus Christ. Exactly the same title occurs in Acts 15:26, in the letter written from the Apostolic Council to the Syrian Churches—a letter which was probably drawn up by St. James himself. The Lord of glory. The same title is given to our Lord in 1 Corinthians 2:8, and seems to be founded on Psalms 24:7, etc. The genitive, τῆςδόξης, must depend on Κυρίου in spite of the intervening ἸησοῦΧριστοῦ. Similar trajections occur elsewhere; e.g. Hebrews 12:11, where δικαιοσύνης depend, on καρπόν, and, according to a possible view, Luke 2:14. Bengel’s view, that τῆςδόξης is in apposition with ΚυρίουἸησοῦΧριστοῦ can scarcely be maintained, in the absence of any parallel expression elsewhere. Respect of persons (ἐνπροσωποληψίαις) literally, reception of faces. The substantive is found here and three times in St. Paul’s Epistles—Romans 2:11; Ephesians 6:9; Colossians 3:25; the verb (προσωποληπτεῖν) only here in Colossians 3:9; προσωπολήπτης in Acts 10:31. None of them occur in the LXX., where, however, we find πρόσωπονλαμβάνειν in Le Acts 19:15; Malachi 2:9, etc. (cf. Luke 20:21), for the Hebrew מינִףָ זשָׂגַ. Bishop Lightfoot has pointed out that, in the Old Testament, the expression is a neutral one, not necessarily involving any idea of partiality, and more often used in a good than in a bad sense. "When it becomes an independent Greek phrase, however, the bad sense attaches to it, owing to the secondary meaning of πρόσωπον as a mask,’ so that πρόσωπονλαμβάνειν signifies ’to regard the external circumstances of a man’—his rank, wealth, etc.—as opposed to his real intrinsic character. Thus in the New Testament it has always a bad sense." It is exactly this regard to external circumstances against which St. James is warning his readers; and the fact that our Lord Jesus Christ had himself been known, when on earth, as no respecter of persons (Luke 20:21), would give point to his warning. The plural (ἐνπροσωποληψίαις) is perhaps used to include the different kinds of manifestations of the sin. James 2:2-4 Proof that they were guilty of respect of persons. Observe the insight which this passage gives us into the cha-racier of the assemblies of the early Christians, showing (1) that the entrance of a rich man was not entirely unknown, but (2) that it was probably exceptional, because so much was made of him. Notice (3) συναγωγή used here, and here only in the New Testament, of a Christian assembly for worship (cf. Ignatius, ’Ad Polye.,’ c. 4., Πυκνότερονσυναγωγαὶγινέσθωσαν). James 2:2 A man with a gold ring (ἀνὴρχρυσοδακτύλιος). The word is found here only. The English Versions (both A.V. and R.V) needlessly limit its meaning. The man was probably bedecked with a number of rings, and had not one only. In goodly apparel. The same phrase is rendering "gay clothing" in James 2:3. The variation is quite unnecessary, the Greek being identical in both places, and rightly rendered by R.V. "fine clothing." It is curious to find a similar needless variation in the Vulgate, which has in veste candida in James 2:2, and veste proeclara in James 2:3. James 2:4 The copula (καὶ) of the Received Text is certainly spurious. It is found in K, L, but is wanting in à, A, B, C, Vulgate, Syriac, Coptic. B also omits the negative ου). If this manuscript is followed, the sentence must be read as a direct statement, and not as interrogative. But if (with most manuscripts and editions) the interrogative be retained, the translation is still doubtful. Διεκρίθητεἐνἑαυτοῖς may mean: (1) "Are ye not divided in your own mind?" so the Syriac and R.V., which would imply that this respect of persons showed that they were halting between God and the world—in fact, double-minded. (2) "Do ye not make distinctions among yourselves?" R.V. margin; this gives an excellent sense, but is wanting in authority, as there appears to be no other instance forthcoming of the passive with this meaning. (3) "Did you not doubt among yourselves?" this (doubt) is the almost invariable meaning of διακρίναομαι in the New Testament, and the word has already been used in this sense by St. James (James 1:6). Hence this rendering is to be preferred. So Huther, Plumptre, and Farrar, the latter of whom explains the passage as follows: "It shows doubt to act as though Christ had never promised his kingdom to the poor, rich in faith; and wicked reasonings to argue mentally that the poor must be less worthy of honor than the rich." Judges of evil thoughts (κριταὶδιαλογισμῶνπονηρῶν); sc. their own (thoughts), which caused them to respect persons. Thus the phrase is equivalent to "evil-thinking judges." James 2:5-9 Proof of the sinfulness of respect of persons. James 2:5 Hearken (ἀκούσατε). This has been noticed as a coincidence with the speech of St. James in Acts 15:13. It is, however, too slight to be worth much (cf. Acts 7:2; Acts 13:16; Acts 22:1). For τοῦκόσμουτούτου, read τῷκόσμῳ (à, A, B, C), "poor as to the world;" perhaps "in the estimation of the world." These God chose (to be) rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom, etc. The kingdom; mentioned hero only by St. James (and even here, à, A read ἐπαγγελίας); cf. νόμονβασιλικόν in verse 8. Which he hath promised. As Dean Plumptre has pointed out, "it is scarcely possible to exclude a direct reference to the words of Christ, as in Luke 6:20; Luke 12:31, Luke 12:32; and so we get indirect proof of a current knowledge, at the early period at which St. James wrote, of teaching which was afterwards recorded in the written Gospels." James 2:6 You have dishonored by your treatment the poor man, whom God chose; while those rich men to whom ye pay such honor are just the very persons who (1) oppress you and (2) blaspheme God and Christ. Poor … rich. In the Old Testament we occasionally find the term "poor" parallel to "righteous" (Amos 2:6; Amos 5:12); and "rich" to "wicked" (Isaiah 53:9). St. James’s use here is somewhat similar (see on James 1:9, etc). "Christiani multi ex pauperibus erant: pauci ex divitibus" (Bengel). The "rich men" here alluded to are evidently such as was the Apostle Paul before his conversion. (1) They dragged the poor Christians before the judgment-seat (ἕλκουσινὑμᾶςεἰςκριτήρια). So Saul, "haling (σύρων) men and women, committed them to prison" (Acts 8:3). (2) They blasphemed the honorable Name by which Christians were called. So Saul thought that he ought to do many things contrary to the Name of Jesus of Nazareth, and strove to make them blaspheme (Acts 26:9-11). (3) All this they did in person (αὐτοί); "themselves," just as Saul did. No difficulty need be felt about the presence of these rich men in the synagogues of the Christians. It will be noticed that St. James never calls them "brethren." Further, it must be remembered that, at this early date, the Church had not yet learnt by bitter experience the need for that secrecy with which in later days she shrouded her worship. At this time the Christian assemblies were open to any who chose to find their way in. All were welcome, as we see from 1 Corinthians 14:23, etc., where the chance entry of "men unlearned or unbelieving" is contemplated as likely to happen. Hence there is no sort of difficulty in the presence of the "rich man" here, who might be eagerly welcomed, and repay his welcome by dragging them to the judgment-seat. Draw you before the judgment-seats. The account given by Josephus of the death of St, James himself affords a good illustration of the manner in which Christians were liable to this. But the tribunals need not be confined to Jewish ones. Other instances of similar treatment, illustrating the thoughts and language of the passage before us, may be found in Acts 16:19; Acts 17:6; Acts 18:12. Litigation of an entirely different character between Christians themselves is alluded to and condemned by St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:1-20. James 2:7 That worthy Name (τὸκαλὸνὄνομα); the honorable Name; probably the Name of Christ, by which the disciples were known (Acts 11:26), and for which they suffered (Acts 5:41; 1 Peter 5:14 -16). By the which ye are called; literally, which was called upon you (τὸἐπικληθὲνἐφὑμᾶς). A similar expression is found in St. James’s speech in Acts 15:17, in a quotation from Amos 9:12. James 2:8 What is the connection with the foregoing? Μέντοι is ignored altogether by the A.V. Translate, with R.V., howbeit if ye fulfill, etc.; Vulgate, tamen. According to Huther, St. James here meets the attempt which his readers might, perhaps, make to justify their conduct towards the rich with the law of love; whilst he grants to them that the fulfillment of that law is something excellent, he designates προσωποληπτεῖν directly as a transgression of the law. Alford thinks that the apostle is simply guarding his own argument from misconstruction—a view which is simpler and perhaps more natural. The royal law. Why is the law of love thus styled? (The Syriac has simply "the law of God.") (1) As being the most excellent of all laws; as we might call it the sovereign principle of our conduct. Such an expression is natural enough in a Greek writer; but it is strange in a Jew like St. James (in the LXX. βασιλικός is always used in its literal meaning); and as the "kingdom" has been spoken of just before (verse 5), it is better (2) to take the expression as literal here—"the law of the kingdom" (cf. Plumptre, in loc). Thou shalt love, etc. (Leviticus 19:18). The law had received the sanction of the King himself (Matthew 22:39; Luke 10:26-28). James 2:9 And are convinced, etc.; better, with R.V., being convicted by the law (ἐλεγχόμενοιὑπὸτοῦνόμου). The Law of Moses directly forbade all respect of persons; see Leviticus 19:15 (three verses above the passage just quoted by St. James), Οὐλήψῃπρόσωπονπτωχοῦοὐδὲμὴθαυμάσῃςπρόσωπονδυνάστον. James 2:10 In this verse the subjunctives τηρήσῃπταίσῃ, are rightly read by the Revisors, with à, B, C. The Law was express on the need of keeping all the commandments; see Leviticus 19:37 (the same chapter to which St. James has already referred), Καὶφυλάξωσθεπάντατὸννόμονμουκαὶπάντατὰπροστάγματάμουκαὶποιήσετεαὐτά). He is guilty of all. The very same thought is found in rabbinical writers (Talmud, ’Schabbath,’ fol. 70); a saying of R. Johanan: "Quodsi racist omnia unum vero omitter omnium est singulorum reus." Other passages to the same effect may be seen in Schottgen, ’Horae Hebraicae,’ vol. 1. p. 1017, etc.; and cf., ’Pirqe Aboth,’ 4.15. Was it a false inference from St. James’s teaching in this verso that led the Judaizers of Act 15:1-41. to lay down the law "Except ye be circumcised after the customs of Moses ye cannot be saved"? "Whosoever shall keep the whole Law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all," might seem to suggest such an inference: "To whom," says St. James himself, "we gave no commandment" (Acts 15:24). James 2:11 Do not commit adultery … do not kill. The order of the commandments is remarkable; what is now the seventh is placed bolero the sixth. This appears to have been the usual order at that time. In this order our Lord quotes them in Luke 18:20, and St. Paul in Romans 13:9. Philo also has the same order, and expressly comments on it, drawing from it an argument for the heinousness of adultery. In the Vatican Manuscript of the LXX. in Exodus 20:13-15 the order is, "Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not kill." But the Alexandrian Manuscript has the usual order, which is also found in Matthew 19:18 and Mark 10:19 (according to the correct reading). James 2:12, James 2:13 Conclusion of the subject: νόμοςἐλευθερίας (cf. James 1:25). James 2:13 A clear reminiscence of our Lord’s teaching in the sermon on the mount (Matthew 7:1, etc.; Matthew 5:7): Μακάριοιοἱἐλεήμονεςὅτιαὐτοὶἐλεηθήσονται. Ἀνέλεος is certainly the right form of the word (à, A, B, C, K), not ἀνιλέως (Receptus with L), and the καὶ of the Textus Receptus is entirely wanting in manuscript authority, and should be deleted. The subject is ended by the abrupt declaration, almost like a cry of triumph, "Mercy glorieth against judgment." James 2:14-26 WARNING AGAINST RESTING CONTENT WITH A MERE BARREN . Preliminary note: This is the famous passage which led to Luther’s depreciation of the whole Epistle, which he termed a "right strawy" one. At first sight it appears, indeed, diametrically opposed to the teaching of St. Paul; for: (1) St. Paul says (Romans 3:28)," We conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from (χωρίς) works of Law," whereas St. James asserts (verse 26) that "faith without (χωρίς) works is dead," and that man is "justified by works and not by faith only" (verse 24). (2) St. Paul speaks of Abraham as justified by faith (Romans 4:1-25.; cf. Galatians 3:6, etc); St. James says that he was justified by works (verse 21). (3) St. Paul, or the Pauline author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, appeals to the case of Rahab as an instance of faith (Hebrews 11:31); St. James refers to her as an example of justification by works (verse 25). The opposition, however, is only apparent; for: (1) The two apostles use the word ἔργα different senses. In St. Paul it always has a depreciatory sense, unless qualified by the adjective καλὰ or ἄγαθα. The works which he denies to have any share in justification are "legal works," not those which he elsewhere denominates the "fruit of the Spirit" (Galatians 5:22), which are the "works" of which St. James speaks. (2) The word πίστις is also used in different senses. In St. Paul it is πίστιςδἰἀγαπῆςἐνεργουμένη (Galatians 5:6); in St. James it is simply an orthodox creed, "Even the devils πιστεύουσι (verse 19): it may, therefore, be barren of works of charity. (3) The apostles are writing against different errors and tendencies: St. Paul against that of those who would impose the Jewish Law and the rite of circumcision upon Gentile believers; St. James against "the self-complacent orthodoxy of the Pharisaic Christian, who, satisfied with the possession of a pure monotheism and vaunting his descent from Abraham, needed to be reminded not to neglect the still weightier matters of a self-denying love". [The tendency of the Jews to rely on their claim as "Abraham’s children" is rebuked by the Baptist (Matthew 3:9) and by our Lord (John 8:39). So Justin Martyr speaks of the Jews of his day: Οἱλέγουσινὅτικἂνἁμαρτωλοὶὧσιθεὸνδέγινώσκωσινοὐμὴλογίσηταιαὐτοῖςἁμαρτίαν.] (4) The apostles regarded the new dispensation from different standpoints. With St. Paul’ it is the negation of law: "Ye are not under Law, but under grace" (Romans 6:14). With St. James it is the perfection of Law. But, as Bishop Lightfoot has pointed out, "the ideas underlying these contradictory forms of expression need not be essentially different." The mere ritual has no value for St. James. Apart from anything higher it is sternly denounced by him (James 1:20, etc). The gospel is in his view a Law, but it is no mere system of rules, "Touch not, taste not, handle not;" it is no hard bondage, for it is a law of liberty, which is in exact accordance with the teaching of St. Paul, that "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (2 Corinthians 3:17). But: (5) The question now arises. Granting that St. James does not contradict the doctrine of St. Paul, is he not opposing Antinomian perversions of it, and writing with conscious reference to the teaching of the apostle of the Gentiles, and the misuse which some had made of it? To this question different answers have been returned. "So long as our range of view is confined to the apostolic writings, it seems scarcely possible to resist the impression that St. James is attacking the teaching, if not of St. Paul himself, at least of those who exaggerated and perverted it. But when we realize the fact that the passage in Genesis was a common thesis in the schools of the day, that the meaning of faith was variously explained by the disputants, that diverse lessons were drawn from it—then the case is altered. The Gentile apostle and the Pharisaic rabbi might both maintain the supremacy of faith as the means of salvation; but faith with St. Paul was a very different thing kern faith with Maimonides, for instance. With the one its prominent idea is a spiritual life, with the other an orthodox creed; with the one the guiding principle is the individual conscience, with the other an external rule of ordinances; with the one faith is allied to liberty, with the other to bondage. Thus it becomes a question whether St. James’s protest against reliance on faith alone has any reference direct or indirect to St. Paul’s language and teaching. Whether, in fact, it is not aimed against an entirely different type of religious feeling, against the Pharisaic spirit which rested satisfied with a barren orthodoxy fruitless in works of charity". In favor of this view of the entire independence of the two writers, to which he inclines, Bishop Lightfoot urges: (a) That the object of the much-vaunted faith of those against whom St. James writes is "the fundamental maxim of the Law," "Thou believest that God is one" (Deuteronomy 6:4); not "the fundamental fact of the gospel," "Thou believest that God raised Christ from the dead" (Romans 10:9). (b) That the whole tone of the Epistle recalls our Lord’s denunciations of the scribes and Pharisees, and seems directed against a kindred spirit. To these we may add: (c) That the teaching of St. Paul and St. James is combined by St. Clement of Rome (’Ep. ad Corinthians,’ c. 12) in a manner which is conclusive as to the fact that he was unaware of any divergence of view between them, whether real or apparent. We conclude, then, that the teaching of St. James has no direct relation to that of St. Paul, and may well have been anterior in time to his Epistles to the Romans and Galatians. James 2:14-17 (1) First point: Faith without works is equivalent to profession without practice, and is therefore dead. James 2:14 Omit the article (with B, C1), and read τίὀφελος: so also in James 2:16. Can faith save him! rather, with R.V., that faith (ἡπίστις); the faith in question. James 2:15, James 2:16 Observe the practical character of the illustration chosen, from works of mercy (cf. James 1:27). Ωσι in James 2:15 should be deleted (omitted by B, C, K); also the disjunctive particle δὲ at the commencement of the verse (with à, B). James 2:16 Depart in peace (ὑπάγετεἐνεἰρήνῃ); cf. Acts 16:36. This is something quite different from the fullness of our Lord’s benediction, "Go into peace (ὕπαγεεἰςεἰρήνην)" (Mark 5:34; cf. Luke 7:50; Luke 8:48). James 2:17 Being alone (καθἑαυτήν); R.V., in itself. But the rendering of the A.V. appears to be justified by the LXX. in Genesis 43:31, Παρέθηκαναὐτῷμόνῳκαὶαὐτοῖςκαθἑαυτούςκ.τ.λ.. James 2:18, James 2:19 (2) Second point: Even the devils believe (πιστεύουσι). How worthless, then, must be faith (πίστις) alone! James 2:18 Yea, a man may say (ἀλλἐρεῖτις). The objection in 1 Corinthians 15:35 is introduced by precisely the same words. It is somewhat difficult to see their drift here, as what follows cannot be an objection, for it is just the position which St. James himself adopts. The formula must, therefore, be taken as introducing the perfectly fair retort to which the man who gives utterance to the sentiments of verse 16 lays himself open. Without thy works. Instead of χώρις (à, A, B, C, Latt., Syriac, Coptic), the Received Text has the manifestly erroneous reading ἐκ (K, L), in which it is happily not followed by the A.V. James 2:19 (1) "Thou believest that God is one," R.V., reading ὍτιεἷςὁΘεόςἐστιν: or (2) "Thou believest that there is one God," A.V. and R.V. margin, reading ὍτιεἷςΘεὸςἐστὶν. The reading, and by consequence the translation, must be considered somewhat doubtful, as scarcely any two uncials read the words in precisely the same order. The illustration is taken from the central command of the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 6:4), indicating that the ease of Jews is under consideration. The following quotations from the Talmud will show the importance attached by the Jews to this command. It is said (’Berachoth,’ fol. 13, 6) that whoever in repeating it "prolongs the utterance of the word ’One,’ shall have his days and years prolonged to him." Again we are told that when Rabbi Akibah was martyred he died uttering this word "One;" and then came a Bath Kol, which said, "Blessed art thou, Rabbi Akibah, for thy soul and the word ’One’ left thy body together." James 2:20-24 (3) Third point: Proof from the example of Abraham that a man is justified by works and not by faith only. In Genesis 15:6 we read of Abraham that "he believed in the Lord; and he accounted it to him for righteousness" (LXX., ἘπίστευσενΑβραμτῷΘεῷκαὶἐλογίσθηαὐτῷεἰςδικαιοσύνην, quoted by St. Paul in Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6). But years after this we find that God "tested Abraham" (Genesis 22:1). To this trial St. James refers as that by which Abraham’s faith was "perfected" (ἐτελειώθη), and by which the saying of earlier years found a more complete realization (cf. Ecclesiasticus 44:20, 21, "Abraham … kept the Law of the Most High, and was in covenant with him … and when he was proved, he was found faithful. Therefore he assured him by an oath, that he would bless the nations in his seed," etc). James 2:20 Faith without works is dead. The Received Text, followed by the A.V., reads νεκρά, with à, A, C3, K, L, Syriac, Vulgate (Clementine). The Revisers, following B, C1, if, read ἀργή, "barren" (so Vulgate Amiat. by a correction, otiosa). James 2:23 And he was called the Friend of God. The expression comes from Isaiah 41:8; 2 Chronicles 20:7 (in the Hebrew, à; LXX., ὅνἠγάπησατῷἠγαπημένῳσου). The same title, φίλοςΘεοῦ, is given to Abraham by Clement of Rome (’Ad Corinthians,’ 10.; 17), and was evidently a standing one among the Jews. Philo actually in one instance quotas Genesis 18:17 as Ἀβραὰμτοῦφίλουμου instead of ποῦπαιδόςμου. Illustrations from later rabbinical writers may be found in Wetstein, and cf. Bishop Lightfoot on ’Clement of Rome,’ p. 61. To this day it is said that Abraham is known among the Arabs as El Khalil, equivalent to "the Friend." James 2:25 (4) Fourth point: Proof from the case of Rahab the harlot of justification by works (cf. Joshua 2:1-24.; Joshua 6:25). Rahab is mentioned elsewhere in the New Testament in Hebrews 11:31, where she also appears as Ῥαὰβἡπόρνη, and is spoken of as having "received the spies," δεξαμένητοὺςκατασκόπους cf. ὑποδεξαμένητοὺςἀγγέλους here. There, however, she is regarded as an instance of faith (see above in preliminary note). The only other place where her name occurs is in the genealogy of our Lord, in Matthew 1:5, "Salmon begat Booz of Rachab (ἐκτῆςΡαχάβ)." James 2:26 Conclusion of the whole matter: "As the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead." James 2:1-13 -1 Respect of persons is inconsistent with the first principles of Christianity. 1. One great function of Christianity was to create a sphere in which there should be neither Jew nor Gentile, Greek nor barbarian, bond nor free. "All equal are within the Church’s gate" is true, not only of the material building, but equally of the spiritual fabric of the Catholic Church, which, like her Divine Head, is no respecter of persons. Bengel well remarks that the equality of Christians, indicated by the name "brethren" (James 2:1), is the foundation of the admonition with which the chapter opens. 2. St. James gives but one instance of the kind of respect of persons which is forbidden, viz. the respect shown to the rich in assemblies of Christians for worship. Other forms of the same sin are common enough and are equally reprehensible, e.g. the homage paid to a man in society because he is rich, without regard to his character and moral worth. At the same time, it must not be forgotten that Christianity accepts as a fact class distinctions, and that we are bidden to give "honor to whom honor is due." "The Christian religion allows not that contempt for even earthly dignities affected by some of her followers, but springing more from envy and unruliness than aught besides. True reverence and submission are in no way condemned by this Scripture, but their excess and gross extreme, the preference for vulgar wealth, the adulation of success, the worship, in short, of some new golden calf" (Punchard). 3. Respect of persons, regard to outward appearances, the gold ring and the gay clothing, evince not merely evil thinking but want of faith (verse 4); i.e. a halting between God, who is no respecter of persons, and the world, which judges only by that which is external. How foolish also to regard the persons of men, when the object of our faith is the Lord of glory himself! Worldly poverty is by no means inconsistent with true riches rather it is often accompanied by them, for "God chose the poor as to the world to be rich in faith;" not as if poverty were necessarily accompanied by goodness, or as if all the rich were rejected. But "not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called;" while "the poor," as a class, "have the gospel preached to them." It has been well said that "the temptations of riches assumed in that age very gross forms of sensuality or of greed; but do they become less dangerous by losing a portion of their grossness?" The obedience which God requires is absolute. "Whosoever shall keep the whole Law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." Why, since the breach of but one command is certainly not as sinful as the breach of all? Because (1) "the principle of duty and of obedience to all the commandments is one; so that if we choose for ourselves nine commandments to keel), and one to break, we are not doing God’s will, but our own; (2) all the precepts are alike expressions of one Divine will, and rest on one authority; (3) all the precepts are manifestations of love at work—love first to God, and then to our neighbor; and each particular failure shows defect in this" (Dean Scott). "A garment is torn, though you only take away one piece of it; a harmony in music is spoiled if only one voice be out of tune" (Starke). The perfect figure of the circle is marred by a flaw in any one part of it. So to break one command out of all is to violate the whole principle of obedience. Thus men have no right to pick and choose which commandments they will keep, or to "Compound for sins they are inclined to, By damning those they have no mind to." As Christians, we are not entitled to bow down in the house of Rimmon, nor does the strictest obedience to one command give us a dispensation to break another; e.g. spotless chastity on the part of the unfallen will not atone for Pharisaism and harshness to the fallen, for "if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the Law." The character of mercy. The most suggestive commentary on this verse may be found in Shakespeare’s lines— "The quality of mercy is not strain’d; It droppeth, as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath: it is twice bless’d; It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes: ’Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes The throned monarch better than his crown; His scepter shows the force of temporal power, The attribute to awe and majesty, Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings; But mercy is above this sceptered sway, It is enthroned in the heart of kings, It is an attribute to God himself; And earthly power doth then show likest God’s When mercy seasons justice." (’Merchant of Venice,’ Acts 4. so. 1) Faith and works. I. THE OF WITHOUT ; of a mere orthodox creed without the deeds of love, which are as the fruits by which the tree is known. There is no reason to think that the Pharisee of the one parable was unorthodox, or that Dives in another was a heretic; but the faith of each of these was worthless, because not a "faith which worketh by love." The good Samaritan was a stranger and an alien, but did by nature the deeds of the Law; and thus (although "salvation is of the Jews") is held up for an example. The barren fig tree stands forth as the type of profession without practice—a great show of foliage, the ordinary sign that marked the presence of fruit, but after all "nothing but leaves." So is the man who says to his destitute brother, "Depart in peace, get warmed and filled," but gives him none of those things which be needful for the body; and the fate of the fig tree is a warning to all ages of the danger in which such stand. II. THE NEED OF WORKS. 1. In the case of Abraham his faith was perfected by his obedience. 2. Rahab the harlot was justified by works. Works are necessary for all Christians, wherever they are possible, (1) as the fruits of faith, and (2) as the evidences that the faith is genuine. Hence judgment by works is expressly taught in the New Testament. So in the Athanasian Creed, "They that have done good shall go into life everlasting," etc. III. On the apparent difference between the teaching of St. James and of St. Paul, see Farrar’s ’Early Days of Christianity,’ vol. 2. p. 99. "We may thank God that the truth has been revealed to us under many lights; and that by a diversity of gifts the Spirit ministered to each apostle severally as he would, inspiring the one to deepen our spiritual life by the solemn truth that works cannot justify apart from faith, and the other to stimulate our efforts after a holy life by the no less solemn truth that faith cannot justify us unless it be the living faith which is shown’ by works. There is in the diversity a deeper unity. The Church, thank God, is ’Circumamicta varietatibus’—clothed in raiment of many hues. St. Paul had dwelt prominently on faith; St. Peter dwells much on hope; St. John insists most of all on love. But the Christian life is the synthesis of these Divine graces, and the works of which St. James so vehemently impresses the necessity, are works which are the combined result of operative faith, of constraining love, and of purifying hope." BY C. JERDAN James 2:1-7 Respect of persons. In the closing sentences of the preceding chapter James has been speaking of the true cultus or ritual of the Church; and here he warns his readers against a violation of it which they were in danger of committing, and of which indeed they had been already guilty, even when assembled for public worship. I. THE EVIL HERE . (Verse 1) It is that of Pharisaic contempt of the poor. The apostle does not, of course, mean that social distinctions are nowhere to be recognized by God’s people. The Scriptures teach no such doctrine. Bather they enjoin Christians to "render honor to whom honor is due" (Romans 13:7). In ordinary society we are to act with manly deference towards our superiors, whether they be such in age, rank, office, knowledge, wealth, or influence. The apostle refers in this exhortation to the spiritual sphere. He urges that within the sacred circle of our Church life respect is to be paid to religious character, and not to material wealth. A true pure faith in "the Lord of glory" is incompatible with the entire spirit of snobbery, and especially with the maintenance of unchristian distinctions of caste within the Church. The British Churches of the nineteenth century unhappily need the warning of this passage almost as much as the congregations of the Dispersion in the apostolic age (see Kitto’s ’Daily Bible Illustrations,’ vol. 1. twelfth week, first day). II. A OF THE EVIL. (Verses 2, 3) The case supposed is in all respects an extreme one; yet how correctly it depicts human nature! It presents the thought of "the influences of clothes," or that "society is founded upon cloth" (Carlyle). The deference paid to the gold-ringed man in presence of the congregation is described with dramatic realism. A cordial welcome greets him when he caters, and he is conducted fussily to a principal seat; while the poor man in the squalid clothing is coldly pointed to a place where he may stand, or at most is permitted to sit in an uncomfortable comer. The apostle’s graphic picture suggests to the thoughtful reader other examples of the same sin. We shall mention only one or two. The arrangements for seating a congregation amongst ourselves sometimes show "respect of persons," as in the case of an elevated and luxurious pew for the lord of the manor. Ministers in the pulpit are tempted to avoid enforcing practical duties too pointedly, lest their exhortations and reproofs should be unpalatable to influential families. Church courts are sometimes prone to mete out different measures to different classes of offenders. Congregations have been known to elect men of substance to spiritual office, rather than those who possessed the requisite qualifications of mind and character; and, on the other hand, members of Churches are sometimes actuated by mean jealousy of a wealthy fellow-worshipper, even to such an extent that they would fain, were it possible, abridge his liberty in the exercise of his ordinary rights as a member of the congregation. In these and many other ways Christian people have often shown themselves to be "evil-thinking judges," and have thereby entailed upon the Church much mischief and damage. III. THE GROUNDS OF THE . The apostle’s reproof is faithful, but it is also affectionately tender (verses 1, 5). He indicates from various points of view the wrongfulness of the partiality which he is denouncing. 1. Mere earthly distinctions should be indiscernible in the presence of "the Lord of glory." (Verse 1) There is an argument in the very use here of this great title. Worldly distinctions of wealth and rank should be dwarfed into nothingness before our minds when we realize that those who assemble in the house of God are the guests of "the Lord of glory." 2. Respect of persons is inconsistent with sound Christian principle. (Verse 4) The believer "looks at the things which are not seen;" and he ought not to do so with a wavering mind or a vacillating will. Ecclesiastical servility towards the rich is a form of mammon-worship; while the one power which the Church should exalt is that of character. 3. "God is no respecter of persons." (Verse 5) The New Testament rings with declarations of this truth. "The Lord of glory," when he lived on earth, was no sycophant of the rich. He was himself a poor man. He chose the poor rather than the rich to possess spiritual means in his kingdom. In "dishonoring the poor man," therefore, the Church was despising one for whom Christ died, and a possible heir of the heavenly glory. 4. The rich as a class had been the enemies both of Christ and his people. (Verses 6, 7) With a few noble exceptions, the upper classes persecuted the Christians in the days of the apostles. They harassed them with lawsuits. They slandered them before the judges. They cursed the blessed Name of Christ which it is the mission of the Church to exalt. It was, therefore, contrary to "the spirit of a sound mind" to court the rich. To do so showed a deficiency of common sense. It indicated a lack of self-respect. And, above all, it was disloyal to the blessed Name.—C.J. James 2:8-11 Stumbling in one point. In these verses James takes the high ground that "respect of persons" is a transgression of the law by which we are to be judged; anal one which, like every other, involves the guilt of breaking the whole law. I. TO RESPECT PERSONS IS TO COMMIT SIN. (Verses 8, 9) It involves disobedience to "the royal law." This is a noticeable expression. Any Divine commandment may be described as "royal," seeing that it emanates from the supreme Sovereign of the universe. Rather, however, may the moral law receive this epithet because it is regal in its own character. God’s law is the law of love; and love is kingly. The Divine nature itself is the foundation of virtue; and "God is love." Hence the Divine law is the eternal rule and final standard of rectitude. It possesses supreme excellence and supreme authority. Every other system of legislation, and all other rules of duty, ought to be subordinate to "the royal law." This law, we know, cannot be unjust; for it is a transcript of the moral perfection of the Divine nature, and is therefore the Alpha and Omega of all laws. The royal law is to be fulfilled "according to the Scripture;" for, while its ultimate source is in the nature of God, the one authoritative record of it to which sinful men have access is to be found in the Bible. We must consult "the law and the testimony" if we would ascertain the edicts of the great King, and learn the "newness of the spirit" in which these are to be obeyed. God’s Word lays bare before us our half-buried and forgotten moral convictions; it restores the weather-worn inscriptions upon the gravestones of our sin-dead hearts. The apostle cites, as the great precept which forbids respect of persons, the words of Le 19:18, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself"—the same precept which our Lord had employed as his summary of the principle underlying the last six commandments. We are to love our neighbor, i.e. any one to whom we have it within our power to become helpful, even although he may be a stranger and a Samaritan. Those who discharge this duty aright "do well." But, enlightened love for ones neighbor is inconsistent with respect of persons. We may not limit the precept either to our wealthy neighbor or to our poor neighbor. Indeed, to show partiality is not so much to trait the precept as to discard it altogether. Favoritism is the outcome of selfishness, rather than of the love that "seeketh not its own." Those, therefore, who practice it are not guilty of a trifling impropriety, but of direct and palpable sin, both against the Old Testament law anti "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus." II. TO IN ONE POINT IS TO THE WHOLE LAW. (Verses 10, 11) Let no one plead that respect of persons in the Church is so trivial a fault that it ought to be overlooked, especially in view of the social and pecuniary benefits which may be expected to result from it. The apostle assures us that partiality is a sin, and that he who indulges in it disobeys the whole moral law. To unthinking minds this latter assertion may sound very doubtful doctrine, leading them to ask—Is this statement of the nature of casuistry, or is it sober truth in the form of paradox? Does it not seem contrary to true moral perspective to affirm that a man who is noted for his blameless life "becomes guilty of all" when he "stumbles in one point"? Do not some sins, like some diseases, shut out the possibility of others which lie in an opposite direction? But a little consideration will reveal the deep moral truth of this saying. For: 1. The Lawgiver is one. (Verse 11) Every precept of the law possesses the same Divine authority. The sixth commandment is invested with the same solemn sanctions as the seventh. "God spake all these words." To disregard any one precept, therefore, is to violate the entire authority by which the whole Law has been ordained. It follows from this that: 2. The Law itself is one. How immeasurably "the royal law" is exalted, in its grand essential unity, above human systems of jurisprudence! The common law of England has to submit to have its defects supplied, and its rigors mitigated, by equity; but how very far yet are our common law and equity and statute law from coalescing into a unity! But the Divine legislation forms a perfect code; for it is a perfect reflection and expression of the mind or’ God. The Bible jurisprudence knows no distinction between law and equity. It is independent of glosses and commentaries. It abhors legal fictions. Having for its Author the God of love, its vital unity is found in the principle of loving obedience. "Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: love therefore is the fulfillment of the law" (Romans 13:10). So, to "stumble in one point" is to break the whole law. For, as has been said, the law is a seamless robe, which is torn although only a part be torn; or a musical harmony, which is marred if one voice be singing out of tune; or a necklace of pearls, from which a single pearl cannot be dropped without breaking the string upon which the others hang, and letting them fall to the ground. 3. The spirit of obedience is one. True reverence for the law is inspired by love to the Lawgiver; and therefore obedience is impartial, and strives to be perfect. Our first parents, in eating the forbidden fruit, fell from the spirit of obedience, and dishonored the whole law. In like manner, the man who habitually breaks one of the commandments shows that in principle he is disloyal, and that he would transgress any other precept were he exposed to similar temptation to do so. . We should not be able to contemplate this subject without being impressed with such considerations as these: 1. The obligation which rests upon us to render perfect obedience to the law of God. 2. The impossibility of our doing so in our own strength, or during the present life. 3. The necessity of clothing ourselves with the righteousness of Christ.—C.J. Law and judgment. In these weighty words James reminds his readers that they are on their way to a dread tribunal where they shall be judged according to their works, and where with what measure they mete it shall be measured to themselves. I. THE OF . The apostle takes the fact for granted. This certainty is attested by: 1. Human nature, Man possesses intuitively the conviction of his moral responsibility. Conscience anticipates even now the sentence which shall proceed from the bar of God. If he be not our Judge, the deepest dictates of morality are illusions. 2. Divine providence. While there is abundant evidence that the world is under moral government, it is also plain that there are many inequalities which require adjustment. The world is full of unredressed wrongs and undiscovered crimes. Providence itself, therefore, points to a day of rectifications. 3. The Word of God. The Bible everywhere represents the Eternal as a moral Governor; and the New Testament in particular describes the final judgment as a definite future event which is to take place at the second advent of Christ. II. THE OF . The poor heathen, since they sin without law, shall be judged without law. Those who possess the Bible shall be tried by the higher standard of that written revelation. Believers in Christ, however, shall be "judged by a law of liberty" (verse 12). This law is, of course, just the moral law viewed in the light of gospel privilege. In the Decalogue, the form which the law assumes is one of outward constraint. As proclaimed from Sinai, it constituted really "an indictment against the human race;" and it was surrounded there with most terrible sanctions. But now, to the Christian, the law comes bound up with the gospel; and the power of gospel grace within the heart places him on the side of the law, and makes it the longer the more delightful for him to obey it. In the believer’s ear the law no longer thunders, "Thou shalt not." To him "love is the fulfillment of the law." The commandments, being written now upon his heart, are no longer "grievous" (1 John 5:3). The law has become to him "a law of liberty." III. THE SUBJECT-MATTER OF . "So speak ye, and so do" (verse 12). The standard will be applied to our words and to our actions. The apostle has already touched upon the government of the tongue in James 1:19, James 1:26; and he has dealt with practical conduct in the intervening verses. His teaching here is an echo of that of the Lord Jesus upon the same theme (Matthew 12:34-37; Matthew 7:21-23). A man’s habits of speech and action are always a true index of his moral state. If we compare human character to a tree, words correspond to its leaves, deeds to its fruit, and thoughts to its root underground. Words and actions will be judged in connection with "the counsels of the hearts" of which they are the exponents. IV. THE OF . (James 1:13) This doctrine of merciless judgment to the unmerciful is enunciated in many parts of Scripture. It receives especial prominence in the teaching of our Lord (Matthew 5:7; Matthew 6:12, Matthew 6:14, Matthew 6:15; Matthew 7:1; Matthew 18:23-35). We can never, of course, merit eternal life by cherishing a compassionate spirit. But, since mercy or love is the supreme element in the character of God, it is plain that those who do not manifest active pity towards others have not themselves been renewed into his image, and are therefore unsaved. The purpose of the gospel is to restore man’s likeness to God, who "is love;" so that the man who exhibits no love shows that he has not allowed the gospel to exercise its sanctifying power within him, and he shall therefore be condemned for rejecting it. But the medal has another side; for the apostle adds, "Mercy glorieth against judgment." This seems to mean that the tender-hearted and actively compassionate follower of Christ need not fear the final judgment. His mercifulness is an evidence that he is himself a partaker of the mercy of God in Christ. He shall lift up his head with joy when he stands before the bar of Heaven (Matthew 25:34-40). His Judge will be the Lord Jesus, over whose cradle and at whose cross mercy and judgment met together. God himself, in order to effect our redemption, sheathed the sword of justice in the heart of mercy; and his redeemed people, in their intercourse with their fellow-men, learn to imitate him by cultivating the spirit of tenderness and forgiveness. Thus it is an axiom in the world of grace, acted on both by God and by his people, that "mercy glorieth against judgment."—C.J. James 2:14-19 Works the test of faith. God has joined faith and works together; but perverse human nature will insist upon putting them asunder. In the apostolic age, Paul met with many people who made works everything, to the neglect of faith; and James met with others who made faith everything, to the neglect of works.. In our time, too, multitudes outside the Church are saying that good conduct is the one thing needful, while orthodoxy of creed is comparatively unimportant. "For modes of faith let graceless zealots fight; His can’t be wrong whose life is in the right." (Pope) Within the Church, on the other hand, many are clinging to a lifeless formal faith—a faith which assents to theological propositions, but which does not influence dispositions. This latter error the apostle here exposes and refutes. I. THE OF A BARREN FAITH. (Verse 14) The case supposed is not that of a hypocrite, but of a self-deceiver. The man has faith, of a sort; but it is only the cold assent of the intellect. It does not purify his heart, or renew his will, or revolutionize his moral nature, as saving faith always does. Its weakness is seen in the fact that it is unproductive. It does not stir up its possessor to any habit of self-denial or of sympathetic benevolence. This faith coexists, perhaps, with respect of persons (verses 1-13); or with an unbridled tongue, or a passionate temper, or a disposition to decline accepting the blame of one’s own sins (James 1:1-27). How many persons who "say they have faith" by assuming the responsibilities of Church membership, yet "have not works"! How many do not observe family prayer, or impart religious instruction to their children, or make any real sacrifice of their means for Christ’s cause, or devote themselves to any personal effort to advance his kingdom! James asks concerning such inoperative faith—Cui bono? And the answer is, that no good use can be made of it. The faith which does not fill one’s heart with love to God, and which does not produce practical sympathy towards one’s fellow-men, is a spurious, worthless, bastard faith. Such a faith not only leaves its possessor unsaved, but increases the moral deterioration which shall make him the longer the less worth saving. II. ADDUCED TO SHOW THIS . (Verses 15-19) 1. An illustrative case. (Verses 15-17) It is the bitterest mockery for a man who is himself living in ease and comfort to say to his shivering starving brother, when he sends him away empty-handed, "Depart in peace; do not give way to despondency; God has said he will never forsake his people; he shall give his angels charge concerning you; and I myself will pray for you. ’Sentimental professions of sympathy which have no outcome of practical help do not "profit" either person. They tempt the destitute man to become a misanthrope; and they ruin the moral health of the false sympathizer (1 John 3:16-18). Mere lip-charity is not true charity; and a professed faith which is palpably barren of good works "is dead in itself." 2. A direct challenge. (Verse 18) This challenge is represented as offered by a true and consistent believer. He defies the professing Christian who divorces faith from practice, to exhibit his faith apart from works. He says in effect, "A believer is to ’let his light shine.’ Well, I point to the new life which I am living as the appropriate manifestation of my faith; but, since you neglect good works, it is for you to indicate how you can manifest your faith otherwise." A faith which produces no works is unable to show itself; therefore it is not true faith at all. 3. An actual example. (Verse 19) Should any professing Christian of "the Dispersion" have been pluming himself upon his correct theology and. his notional faith, here was a solemn warning to him. Should he have been resting satisfied with the thought that, living in the midst of polytheism, he was holding fast by the Hebrew doctrine of the unity of God, this verse would remind him of the profitlessness of such a conviction, unless it; expanded into the blossoms and fruits of holiness. "The demons believe," and yet they remain demons. The unclean spirits whom Jesus exorcised had plenty of head-knowledge and head-faith about both God and Christ; but their faith was of a kind that made them "shudder" with terror when they realized the great verities. Being a merely intellectual credence, it could not cleanse the soul; it could only produce the "fear" which "hath punishment." Learn, in conclusion, that "with the heart man believeth unto righteousness." True saving faith not only asks, with Paul, "Who art thou, Lord?" but with him also passes from that question to this other, "What shall I do, Lord?"—C.J. James 2:20-26 Justification by faith and works. The meaning of this notable passage has been much contested, because its teaching seems to many minds to contradict the doctrine of justification by faith. It was this apparent antagonism which led Martin Luther for a time to denounce the whole Epistle of James as a mere handful of "straw." Since his day, however, good men have been coming more and. more to see that Paul and James, so far from opposing one another, are in reality presenting different sides of the same great truth. Paul, in Romans and Galatians, fights against self-righteousness; James, in this Epistle, contends against formalism and licentiousness. James’s "faith without works" is not the justifying faith of Rom 3:28—"working through love;" it is rather the useless faith without love of which Paul speaks in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. The two apostles, as we understand the matter, both treat of the same justification, but they do not contemplate it from the same point of view. Paul looks at justification metaphysically, in its essence as meaning acceptance with God on the ground of the righteousness of Christ; while James views it practically, in its vital connection with sanctification, and its efflorescence in a holy life. The "works" of James are just the "faith" of Paul developed in action. In the verses before us, James continues his illustration of the operative fruit-bearing nature of justifying faith. He adduces two examples from the Old Testament Scriptures. I. THE EXAMPLE OF ABRAHAM. (Verses 21-23) It is remarkable that Paul employs the same illustration in setting forth the doctrine of justification by faith alone; and that he appeals also to the identical Old Testament statement (Genesis 15:6) here quoted respecting Abraham’s acceptance (Romans 4:1-25.; Galatians 3:6, Galatians 3:7). Paul says that Abraham was justified by faith before Isaac was born; while James says that he was "justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son upon the altar" (verse 21). But James is careful to add, that in this crowning manifestation of his piety the patriarch’s faith co-operated with his works. The confidence which Abraham had reposed in God for so many years was the very life of his obedience to the dreadful command to kill his only son; and. the reflex influence of his victorious passage through such an awful ordeal was that his strong trust in God was still further strengthened and "made perfect" (verse 22). Abraham’s faith alone had been "reckoned unto him for righteousness" ever since the day when he first "went out, not knowing whither he went;" but the longer that he persevered in believing, and kept adding practical virtues to his faith, his original justification was the more confirmed. So, as good works are vitally connected with saving faith—being, in fact, wrapped up within it in germ from the beginning—Abraham may be said to have been "justified by works." The faith which saved him was a works-producing faith. And he was so greatly distinguished for the fruitfulness of his faith that he became known in Hebrew history as "the friend of God." II. THE EXAMPLE OF RAHAB. (Verse 25) Her case seems to have been selected because it was so unlike the preceding. Abraham was a Jew, and the father of the chosen nation; Rahab was a heathen woman. Abraham had for many years received a special training in the school of faith; Rahab had enjoyed no training at all. Abraham was a good and pure man; Rahab had lived a loose and sensual life. Yet this degraded Canaanite obtained "like precious faith" with the illustrious patriarch. The same two Old Testament examples are cited also in Hebrews 11:1-40.; and certainly they take rank as the two extreme cases selected for special mention in that chapter. The contrast is useful as showing that, invariably, good works are found flowing from a living faith. The object of Rahab’s belief is expressed in her own words in Joshua 2:9-11; and her strenuous exertions for the safety of the two spies, made at the risk of her life, bring her faith into prominence, as "working with her works." . In Joshua 2:20 the apostle begins the paragraph with a restatement of his thesis; and in Joshua 2:24 and 26, after presenting the scriptural examples respectively, he introduces a triumphant "Q.E.D" He has shown that the faith which lies only in the cold assent of the intellect to a system of divinity is more like a lifeless corpse than a living man (verse 26). Truly saving faith consists in such a warm personal trust of the heart as will manifest itself in a life of holy obedience. So the ethical in religion ought never to be divorced from the evangelical. Every Christian minister should preach many sermons on distinctively moral subjects, taking care, however, that such discourses are informed with gospel motives. And every member of the Church should practice in the market-place and the workshop the morality of the Sermon on the Mount—not simply because a holy life is the appropriate evidence of faith, but rather because it is the great end in order to which the believer’s faith is reckoned fur righteousness.—C.J. BY T.F. LOCKYER Amongst the other evils of which these Christian Jews were guilty, was the gross evil of respect of persons. James presents the scene graphically, according to his wont. There is the synagogue, with the worshippers gathering for worship, some taking the good places, as it were the chancel-seats, near to the ark with the roll of the Law, and to the table of the Lord; some the lower seats, away from the speaker anti the Word. When, lo, a rich man enters, some stranger to the place, blazing in Tyrian purple, all embroidered o’er with gold, and heavily laden with jeweled rings. And him the officious ministrants conduct with ostentatious honor to the stalls in the chief part of the synagogue. A poor man enters, likewise a stranger, in squalid garb, and. with some contempt of gesture or of tone the deacon points him to a remote place in the building, or bids him sit below the rich man’s toot-stool on the ground. So did the Christian Church do homage to the pomp and wealth of the world, and despise the poor. Against this practice James levels his rebuke, and shows the inconsistency and the sin of such respect of persons. I. THE . He points out the inconsistency of such conduct: 1. With their faith. (Verses 1, 4) The faith of Christians is precisely that faculty of their nature by which they discern and espouse spiritual things as distinguished from the things of the world. And in virtue of this faith they are supposed to be raised above the tyranny of world-attractions. The glory of earth does not dazzle them, for their faith has caught the vision of a higher glory, even a heavenly, of which Jesus Christ is Lord. They sit in heavenly places with him. And in virtue of this faith they must estimate a man according to his relation to the invisible world, his relation to Christ and God. There is to them a citizenship, a brotherhood, which takes precedence of all other social claims. How, then, with such a faith, the faith of the Lord of glory, could they be caught with the glitter of rings and of cloth of gold? And how ignore the equal relationships to the spiritual kingdom of God? Their conduct was in utter inconsistency with their belief, their faith; they were double-minded, evil-thoughted judges. 2. Also, with their world-relationships themselves. (Verses 6, 7) For they were in the world, though properly not of it. And what were their relations to the several classes of the world as such? Their relation to the rich was unquestionably that of persecuted and persecutors, of oppressed and oppressors (verse 6). And to such would they cringe and pay homage; to men of such a class? To those likewise who not only oppressed them, but blasphemed the name by which they were called (verse 7)? The inconsistency of their conduct, then, was sufficiently glaring: they were inconsistent with their professed faith, double-minded, trimming between the world and God; and they were inconsistent with their own relation to the world, for they did reverence to that very power which was often turned against themselves, and against the holy Name they bore. II. THE SIN. All inconsistency may with truth be charged home upon the inconsistent man as being essentially sinful. But the inconsistent conduct of these Jews was more directly and immediately open to that charge, as being a breach of the royal law, the law of love. 1. The specific sin, i.e. the particular aspect which the sin of uncharity assumed in this special case. (1) Want of regard for the spiritual interests of the poor. They were brothers in their common need, but these had not treated them as such. The most commanding claim of one on the love and help of another, that of spiritual necessity, had been almost ignored. (2) Want of considerate tenderness for their special lowliness of estate. The greater their want, the greater should be the regard of Christians for them. So God’s special regard for them (verse 5). So God in Christ (Matthew 11:5). 2. The generic sin, i.e. its general nature, as uncharity, apart from this special manifestation. (1) Transgression of the law of a King—his will disregarded. (2) Transgression of a kingly law—the sway of the principle destroyed. Viewed either way, it loses its character of isolated transgression, of a particular fault, and runs up into the dark character of sin! And all sin is essentially one. As has been said, it is "only accident, or fear, or the absence of temptation, that prevents our transgressing" other commandments also (Plumptre); potentially, when one is broken all are broken. Yes; adultery, murder, and all other deadly evil. "Guilty of all." The conclusion of all is, "With what measure we mete, it shall be measured to us again." A law of liberty, but not of liberty to sin. And if we disregard the law that should make us free, for us there is, not love, but judgment. A merciless judgment, if we have been merciless. But if, on the other hand, our hearts have been loving, and. our lives merciful, through the faith of Christ, then judgment shall be disarmed, and we shall learn what those words mean, "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy."—T.F.L. This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/pulpit-commentary/ James 3:1-12 WARNING AGAINST OVER- TO TEACH, LEADING TO A ON THE OF OF THE TONGUE. James 3:1 (1) Warning. Be not many teachers. The warning is parallel to that of our Lord in Matthew 23:8, seq., "Be not ye called Rabbi; for one is your Teacher [διδάσκαλος, and not, as Textus Receptus, καθηγητής], and all ye are brethren." Comp. also ’Pirqe Aboth,’ 1.11, "Shemaiah said, Love work and hate lordship (תונברה)." The readiness of the Jews to take upon them the office of teachers and to set up as "guides of the blind, teachers of babes," etc., is alluded to by St. Paul in Romans 2:17, seq., and such a passage as 1 Corinthians 14:26, seq., denotes not merely the presence of a similar tendency among Christians, but also the opportunity given for its exercise in the Church. (2) Reason for the warning. Knowing that we shall receive heavier judgment (ληψόμεθα). By the use of the first person, St. James includes himself, thus giving a remarkable proof of humility. (The Vulgate, missing this, has wrongly sumitis) Comp. verses 2, 9, where also he uses the first person, with great delicacy of feeling not separating himself from those whose conduct he denounces. Μεῖζονκρίμα. The form of expression recalls our Lord’s saying of the Pharisees, "These shall receive greater condemnation (περισσότερονκρίμα) " (Mark 12:40; Luke 20:47). James 3:2 Γὰρ gives the reason for this κρίμα. We shall be judged because in many things we all stumble, and it is implied that teachers are in danger of greater condemnation, because it is almost impossible to govern the tongue completely. With the thought comp. Ecclesiastes 7:20, "There is not a just man upon earth that doeth good and sinneth not." Πολλά is adverbial, as in Matthew 9:14, and may be either (1) "in many things," or (2) "oft." Ἅπαντες. "No se ipsos quidem excipiunt apostoli" (Bengel). If any stumbleth not in word (R.V). "Control of speech is named, not as in itself constituting perfection, but as a crucial test indicating whether the man has or has not attained unto it" (Plumptre). Τέλειος (see James 1:4). Χαλιναγωγεῖν (cf. James 1:26). It is only found in these two passages; never in the LXX. James 3:3 Illustration of the last statement of Jas 3:2. The bit in the horse’s mouth enables us to turn about the whole body. So the man who can govern his tongue has the mastery over the whole body. A remarkable parallel is afforded by Sophocles, ’Antigone,’ 1. 470, Σμικρῷχαλινῷδοἷδατοὺςθυμουμένουςἵππουςκαταρτυθέιτας. So also Philo, ’De Op. Mundi,’ p. 19, Τὸθυμικώτατονζῶονἵπποςῥᾳδίωςἄγεταιχαλινωθείς. The manuscript; authority is overwhelming in favor of εἰδὲ (A, B, K, L; à, εἰδεγάρ, etc.; and Vulgate, si autem) instead of ἰδού of the Received Text (C has ἴδε, and the Syriac ecce): thus the apodosis is contained in the words, καὶὅλονκ.τ.λ. Translate, with R.V., now if we put the horses’ bridles into their mouths that they may obey us, we turn about their whole body also. (For a similar correction of ἰδέ to εἰδέ, see Romans 2:17) James 3:4 Second illustration, showing the importance of the tongue and its government. The rudder is a very small thing, but it enables the steersman to guide the ship wherever he will, in spite of the storm. Whithersoever the governor listeth (ὅπουἡὀρμὴτοῦεὐθυνοντοςβούλεται, à, B); whither the impulse of the steersman willeth (R.V); Vulgate, impetus dirigentis. James 3:5 (1) Application, of illustration. The tongue is only a little member, but it boasts great things. The true reading appears to be μεγάλααὐχεῖ (A, B, C). The compound verb of the Textus Receptus, μεγαλαυχεῖν, is found in the LXX. (Ezekiel 16:50; Zephaniah 3:11; 2 Macc. 15:32; Ecclesiasticus 48:18). (2) Third illustration. A very small fire may kindle a very large forest. Ἡλίκον (à, A2, B, C1, Vulgate) should be read instead of ὀλίγον (A1, C2, K, L, ff). It is equivalent to quantulus as well as quantus. A somewhat similar thought to the one before us is found in Ecclesiasticus 11:32, "Of a spark of fire a heap of coals is kindled." Υλη "Matter," A.V.; "wood," R.V. The word is only found here in the New Testament. In the LXX. it is used for a "matter" of judgment in Job 19:29; "matter" in the philosophical sense in Wis. 11:18. (cf. Wis. 15:13); the "matter" of a book in 2 Macc. 2:24; the "matter" of a fire in Ecclesiasticus 28:10 (the whole passage, verses 8-12, is wroth comparing with the one before us); and for "forest" in Job 38:40; Isaiah 10:17. It is most natural to take it in this sense here (so Syriac and Vulgate, silva). "The literal meaning is certainly to be preferred to the philosophical". Forest fires are frequently referred to by the ancients. Virgil’s description of one (’Georgies,’ 2.303) is well known; so also Homer’s (’Iliad,’ 11.155). James 3:6 Application of illustration The translation is doubtful, οὕτως of the Received Text must certainly be deleted. It is wanting in à, A, B, C, K, Latt., Syriac. Three renderings are then possible. (1) "And the tongue is a fire: the world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defileth the whole body and setteth on fire the wheel of nature." (2) "And the tongue is a fire, that world of iniquity: the tongue is among our members that which defileth the whole body," etc.: so Vulgate. (3) "And the tongue is a fire: that world of iniquity, the tongue, is among our members that which defileth the whole body," etc. Of these, the first, which is that of the Revisers, appears to be preferable. A fourth rendering, which is wholly untenable, deserves notice for its antiquity, viz. that of the Syriac, "The tongue is a fire: the world of iniquity (is the forest)." The world of iniquity (ὁκόσμοςτῆςἀδικίας). The tongue is thus characterized, because it leads to and embraces all kinds of wickednesses. As Bishop Wordsworth points out, it contains within itself the elements of all mischief. A somewhat similar use of κόσμος is found in the LXX. of Proverbs 17:6, Τοῦπιστοῦὅλοςὁκόσμοςτῶνχρημάτωντοῦδὲἀπιστουοὐδὲὀβελός, "The whole world of wealth is for the faithful: for the faithless not a penny." Καθίσταται: "is set" or "has its place," and so simply "is." The tongue (1) defiles the whole body, and (2) sets on fire τὸντροχὸντῆςγενέσεως, "the wheel of birth" or "of nature"—a very strange expression, and one almost without parallel.. For γένεσις, comp. James 1:23. The Vulgate has rotam nativitatis nostrae) Alford translates the phrase, "the orb of the creation," and in favor of this the use of the word τροχός in Psalms 77:1-20. (76) 19 may be appealed to. But more natural is the interpretation of Dean Plumptre, who takes it as "a figure for the whole of life from birth, the wheel which then begins to roll on its course and continues rolling until death." So Huther and Dean Scott in the ’ Speaker’s Commentary.’ This view has the support of the Syriac Version: "The course of our generations which run as a wheel;" and is implied in the (false) reading of à, τῆςγενέσεωςἡμῶν, (compare the Vulgate). It should also be noticed that life is compared to a wheel in Ecclesiastes 12:6 (LXX., τροχός). And is set on fire. The tongue has already been called a fire. It is now shown how that fire is kindled—kern beneath, kern Gehenna. A similar expression is found in the Targum on Psalms 120:2, "Lingua dolosa .. cum carbonibus juniperi, qui incensi sunt in Gehenna interne." Gehenna, here personified, is mentioned also in Matthew 5:22, Matthew 5:29, Matthew 5:30; Matthew 10:28; Matthew 18:9; Matthew 23:15, Matthew 23:33; Mark 9:43, Mark 9:45, Mark 9:47; Luke 12:5. Thus the passage before us is the only one in the New Testament where the word is used except, by our Lord himself. The word itself is simply a Graecised form of מוֹנּהִ יגֵּ, "valley of Hinnom," or fully, "valley of the sons of Hinnom" (variously rendered by the LXX. φάραγξΕνννόμ or υἱοῦΕννόμ or Γαιέννα, Joshua 18:16). This valley, from its associations, became a type of hell; and hence its name was taken by the Jews to denote the place of torment. In this sense it occurs in the New Testament, and frequently in Jewish writings (see Buxtorf, ’Lexicon,’ sub verb. מנָּהִגְ), and it is said that the later rabbis actually fixed upon this valley as the mouth of hell. James 3:7 Fourth illustration, involving a proof of the terrible power of the tongue for evil. All kinds of wild animals, etc., can be tamed and have been tamed: the tongue cannot be. What a deadly power for evil must it therefore be! The famous chorus in Sophocles, ’Antigone,’ 1. 332, seq., Πολλὰτὰδεινὰκοὐδὲνἀνθώπουδεινότερονπέλει, is quoted by nearly all commentators, and affords a remarkable parallel to this passage. Every kind of beasts, etc.; literally, every nature (φύσις) of beasts … hath been tamed by man’s nature (τῇφύσειτῇἀνθρωπίνῃ); Vulgate, omnis enim natura bestiarum … domita sunt a natura humana. With this fourfold enumeration of the brute creation ("beasts .. birds.., serpents … things in the sea"), cf. Genesis 9:2, "The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon all the beasts (θήρια) of the earth, upon all the fowls (πέτεινα) of the heavens, and upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea." Serpents (ἐρπετά) would be better rendered, as B.V., creeping things. James 3:8 It is an unruly evil; rather restless, reading ἀκατάστατον (à, A, B) for ἀκατάσχετον of Textus Receptus (C, K, L); Vulgate, inquietum malum (cf. James 1:8). The nominatives in this verse should be noticed: "The last words are to be regarded as a kind of exclamation, and are therefore appended in an independent construction". A restless evil! Full of deadly poison! Compare the abrupt nominative in Philippians 3:19 with Bishop Light-feet’s note. Deadly (θανατηφόρος); here only in the New Testament. In the LXX. it is found in Numbers 18:22; Job 33:23; 4 Macc. 8:17, 24; 15:23. For the figure, cf. Psalms 140:3, "They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders’ poison is under their lips." James 3:9, James 3:10 Examples of the restless character of the tongue: "With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it too we curse men who are made in his image." In the first clause we should read Κύριον (à, A, B, C, Coptic, Syriac, ff, and some manuscripts of the Vulgate) for Θεόν (Receptus, with K, L, and Vulgate). Made after the similitude of God; better, likeness (ὁμοίωσις). The words, which are taken from Genesis 1:26 (καὶεἷπενὁΘεὸςποιήσωμενἄνθρωπονκατεἰκόναἡμετέρανκαὶκαθὁμοιώσιν) are added to show the greatness of the sin. Theologically they are important, as showing that the "likeness of God" in man was not entirely obliterated by the Fall. St. James’s words would be meaningless if only Adam had been created in the image and likeness of God. So St. Paul speaks of fallen man as still "the image (εἰκών) and glory of God" (1 Corinthians 11:7; and cf. Genesis 9:6). James 3:11, James 3:12 Illustrations showing the absurdity of the conduct reprobated. From one principle opposite things cannot be produced. Nothing can bring forth that which is not corresponding to its nature. (1) The same fountain cannot give both sweet and bitter water. (2) A fig tree cannot yield olives, nor a vine figs. (3) Salt water cannot yield sweet. How, then, can the tongue yield both blessing and cursing? It will be seen that the thought in (2) is different from that in Matthew 7:16, to which it bears a superficial resemblance. There the thought is that a good tree cannot yield bad fruit. Here it is that a tree must yield that which corresponds to its nature; a fig tree must yield figs and not olives, etc. So can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. The Received Text, which the A.V. follows, is wrong here. Read, οὔτεἀλυκόνγλυκὺποιῆσαιὕδωρ (A, B, C, and à, except that it reads οὐδέ), and translate, neither can salt water yield sweet; Vulgate, sic neque salsa dulcem potest facere aquam; Syriac, "Thus also salt waters cannot be made sweet." The construction, it will be seen, is suddenly changed in the middle of the verse, and St. James ends as if the previous clause had been οὔτεδύναταισυκῆἐλαίας, κ.τ.λ.. James 3:13-18 WARNING AGAINST AND FACTION. James 3:13 contains the positive exhortation to meekness; James 3:14 the negative warning against jealousy and party spirit; and then the following verses place side by side the portraits of the earthly and the heavenly wisdom. James 3:13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? (τίςσοφόςκαὶἐπιστήμωνἐνὑμῖν;); better, who is wise and understanding among you? ’Επιστήμων is found here only in the New Testament. In the LXX. it is joined with σοφὸς (as here) in Deuteronomy 1:13; Deuteronomy 4:6. "The ἐπιστήμων is one who understands and knows: the σοφὸς is one who carries out his knowledge into his life" (Dr. Farrar, who aptly quotes Tennyson’s line, "Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers"). Out of a good conversation (ἐκτῆςκαλῆςἀναστροφῆς); better, as R.V., by his good life. "Conversation" is unfortunate, because of its modern meaning. Meekness (πραύτης); cf. James 1:21. James 3:14 Bitter envying, Ζῆλος in itself may be either good or bad, and therefore πικρόν is added to characterize it. Bishop Lightfoot (on Galatians 5:20) points out that "as it is the tendency of Christian teaching to exalt the gentler qualities and to depress their opposites, ζῆλος falls in the scale of Christian ethics (see Clem. Romans, §§ 4-6), while ταπεινότης, for instance, rises." It may, perhaps, be an incidental mark of early date that St. James finds it necessary to characterize ζῆλος as πικρόν. Where St. Paul joins it with ἐριθείαι and ἔρις there is no qualifying adjective (Romans 13:13; 1 Corinthians 3:3; 2 Corinthians 12:20; Galatians 5:20). (On the distinction between ζῆλος and φθόνος, both of which are used by St. James, see Archbishop Trench on ’Synonyms,’ § 26). Strife (ἐριθείαν); better, party spirit, or faction (cf. Romans 2:8; 2 Corinthians 12:20; Galatians 5:20; Philippians 1:17; Philippians 2:3). The A.V. "strife" comes from a wrong derivation, as if ἐριθεία were connected with ἔρις, whereas it really comes from ἔριθος, a hired laborer, and so signifies (1) working for hire; (2) the canvassing of hired partisans; and (3) factiousness in general (see Lightfoot on Galatians 5:20). Glory not; i.e. glory not of your wisdom, a boast to which your whole conduct thus gives the lie. James 3:15-18 Contrast between the earthly and the heavenly wisdom: (1) the earthly (James 3:15, James 3:16); (2) the heavenly (James 3:17, James 3:18). James 3:15 " This wisdom [of which you boast] is not a wisdom which cometh down from above." Vulgate, non est enim ista sctpientia desursum descendens. But is earthly, sensual, devilish. Dr. Farrar well says that this wisdom is "earthly because it avariciously cares for the goods of earth (Philippians 3:19); animal, because it is under the sway of animal lusts (1 Corinthians 2:14); demon-like, because full of pride, egotism, malignity, and ambition, which are the works of the devil (1 Timothy 4:1)." Sensual (ψυχική), Vulgate, animalis; R.V. margin, natural or animal. The position of the word is remarkable, occurring between ἐπίγειος and δαιμονιώδης. it is never found in the LXX., nor (apparently) in the apostolic Fathers. In the New Testament it occurs six times—three times of the "natural" body, which is contrasted with the σῶμαπνευματικόν (1 Corinthians 15:44 (twice), 46); and three times with a moral emphasis resting upon it, "and in every instance a most depreciatory" (see 1 Corinthians 2:14), "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God," and Jude 1 Corinthians 1:19, Ψυχικοὶ, πνεῦμαμὴἔχοντες. The ψυχή in general in the New Testament is that which is common to man with the brute creation, including the passions, appetites, etc.; and therefore, by the use of this word ψυχικός to describe the wisdom which cometh not from above, but is "earthly, sensual [or, ’animal’], devilish," we are reminded of the contrast between the spirit of man which goeth upward and the spirit of a beast which goeth downward (Ecclesiastes 3:21). The "animal" man, then, is one who is ruled entirely by the ψυχή in the lower sense of the word; and by the depreciatory sense given to the adjective we are strongly reminded that "nature" is nothing without the aid of grace. See further Archbishop Trench’s ’Synonyms of the N. T.,’ § 71., and for the later history of the word (it was applied by the Montanists to the orthodox), Suicer’s ’Thesaurus,’ vol. it. p. 1589. James 3:16 substantiates the assertion just made in James 3:15. Render, as in James 3:14, jealousy and faction. Ἀκαταστασία: confusion, of which God is not the author (1 Corinthians 14:33). James 3:17 The wisdom which is from above; ἡἄνωθενσοφία, equivalent to הגוילע המכח—an expression not unknown among rabbinical writers. First pure, then peaceable. "The sequence is that of thought, not of time" (Plumptre). Purity must be secured, even at the expense of peace. Gentle, and easy to be entreated (ἐπιεκὴςεὐπειθής). The former of these two terms signifies "forbearing under provocation" (cf. 1 Timothy 3:3; Titus 3:2; 1 Peter 2:18); the latter is found only here. Vulgate, snadibilis; Syriac, "obedient;" R.V. as A.V., "easy to be entreated," i.e. ready to forgive. Thus the conjunction of the two terms ἐπιεικής and εὐπειθής reminds us of the Jewish saying in ’Pirqe Aboth,’ 5.17, describing four characters in dispositions, in which the man who is "hard to provoke and easily pacified" is set down as pious. Without partiality (ἀδιάκριτος); here only in the New Testament. The word is used in the LXX. in Proverbs 25:1; and by Ignatius (Ephesians 3:1-21; Magn. 15; Trall. 1), but none of these passages throw light on its meaning. It may be either (1) without variance, or (2) without doubtfulness, or (3) without partiality; probably (1) as R.V. text. Without hypocrisy; ἀνυπόκριτος applied to πιστίς in 1 Timothy 1:5; 2 Timothy 1:5; to ἀγαπή in Romans 12:9; 2 Corinthians 6:6; and to φιλαδελφία in 1 Peter 1:22. James 3:18 The fruit of righteousness; an expression taken from the Old Testament; e.g. Proverbs 11:30; Amos 6:12; and occurring also in Philippians 1:1]. Of them that make peace. Τοῖςποιοῦσινεἰρηνήν may be either (1) "for them," or (2) "by them that make peace. This verse gives us St. James’s version of the beatitude, "Blessed are the peacemakers (μακάριοιοἱεἰρηοποιοί)" (Matthew 5:9). Speech I. THE GREAT OF . This is forcibly shown by St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:15, etc. Even of those who have built upon the right foundation the work is to be tested by fire, and "if any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire." What, then, must be the "greater condemnation "in store for others whose very foundation was faulty? In a commentary especially designed for teachers of others, a strong recommendation may be permitted of Bishop Bull’s noble sermon on the text, "Be not many masters:" ’Concerning the Great Difficulty and Danger of the Priestly Office’ (Bull’s ’Works,’ vol. 1. sermon 6). II. OF MASTERY OF THE TONGUE. Without a bit in the horse’s mouth it is impossible for the rider to have command over his steed. So, without a bridle on the tongue, no man can govern himself aright. David felt this, and said, "I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me" (Psalms 39:1). Even Moses, the meekest of men, was shut out of the land of promise because he "spake unadvisedly with his lips." And with regard to the one sin, of which we read that it "hath never forgiveness, neither in this world nor in the world to come," it is clear that it is a sin of the tongue, for it is always spoken of as "blasphemy," and never in general terms as" sin against the Holy Ghost." "We rule irrational animals with a bit; how much more ought we to be able to govern ourselves!" (Wordsworth). III. THE VARIED OF SINS OF SPEECH. 1. Sins directly against God; e.g. blasphemy, the mockery of holy things, swearing. 2. Sins against our neighbor; e.g. evil-speaking, lying, and slandering. 3. Sins against ourselves, infringing sobriety, discretion, or modesty. (See Barrow’s’ Sermons,’ vol. 1. sermon 13) IV. OF LITTLE THINGS. The bridle is a very little thing, but the rider cannot do without it. The rudder is very small, but it enables the steersman to guide a very large vessel. A tiny spark may set on fire a huge forest. So the size of a battle-field is quite disproportionate to the extent of country won and lost upon it. The tongue is a very little member, but a victory over it will save the whole man; on the contrary, a failure to rule the tongue involves far more than the sin of the moment; for, small as it is, the tongue "boasts great things, and defiles the whole body," and so leads to the ruin of the whole man. V. THE TONGUE IS A FINE. The apostle is speaking of the tongue as an instrument of ruin, destruction, and devastation. As such it is kindled from beneath—"set on fire of hell" (1 Corinthians 3:6). But there is another sense in which the tongue is a fire, kindled from above, cheering and warming and gladdening men’s hearts, and if its power for evil is great, so also is its power for good. "The fire of man’s wrath is kindled from beneath, as the fire that cleanses is kindled from above. Bearing in our minds the wonder of the day of Pentecost, it is hardly too bold to say that we have to choose whether our tongue shall be purified by the fire of the Holy Spirit or defiled by that of Gehenna" (Plumptre). VI. THE GUILT OF SLANDER. 1. The slanderer injures himself. "The tongue... defiles the whole body." 2. Slander is uncontrollable. "The tongue can no man tame." It "sets on fire the wheel of birth;" that wheel "which catches fire as it goes, and burns with a fiercer conflagration as its own speed increases ... You may tame the wild beast; the conflagration of the American forest will cease when all the timber and the dry under-wood is consumed; but you cannot arrest the progress of that cruel word which you uttered carelessly;… that will go on slaying, poisoning, burning, beyond your own control, now and forever." 3. Slander is unnatural. "These things ought not so to be." It is a contradiction to nature, as much as for a fig tree to bear olives, or for a fountain to produce both fresh and salt water. 4. Slander is diabolical in character. "The tongue … is set on fire of hell." The very name of Satan is "the slanderer." (See Robertson’s ’Sermons,’ vol. 3. sermon 1) Wisdom. I. WISDOM SHOWS BY ITS FRUITS IN HEART AND LIFE. The following are some of the fruits of the heavenly wisdom: (1) purity; (2) peacefulness; (3) forbearance under provocation, i.e. slowness in taking offence; (4) placability, i.e. readiness to forgive an offence actually committed. "By their fruits ye shall know them;" and therefore the presence or absence of such qualities as these form tests by which every one may recognize the presence or absence in his own heart of the wisdom which is from above. II. THE OF PARTY SPIRIT. A sin which is not always recognized, especially in religious circles, as being a sin. Its true character, however, may be seen by a consideration of (1) its source, which is not from above, but from beneath (James 3:15); and (2) its results. It leads to "confusion and every evil work" (James 3:16). III. THE OF THE NATURAL MAN. The meaning of "animal" or "natural" (ψυχικός) in Scripture requires careful consideration. The fact that wherever a moral emphasis rests upon this word it is always depreciatory, and that here (James 3:15) it stands between "earthly" and "devilish," forms one of the clearest indications of the absolute need of grace. Scripture has nothing but condemnation for the man who is ruled by the ψυχή. "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God." Mere good nature will never save a man. It is not enough to be "well disposed." Esau was all this. He stands out in Holy Scripture as the type of the natural man, ruled only by the ψυχή—good-natured, generous, brave, and kindly, but" not having the Spirit;" no grace, and therefore, by the verdict of an inspired writer, his character is stamped as that of "a profane person" (Hebrews 12:16). BY C. JERDAN James 3:1, James 3:2 A dissuasive from ambition to teach. Throughout this chapter the apostle sounds a loud note of warning against sins of the tongue. The opening exhortation directs our thoughts to the responsibilities and dangers of the religious teacher. No one is under more constant temptation to sin with his lips; for it is the daily work of his life to speak regarding the most solemn themes. I. THE CAUTION. "Be not many teachers, my brethren" (James 3:1). It would appear that the Pharisaic Jews of the time of the apostles vied with one another for distinction as teachers. At Church meetings it often happened that the time for free conference was consumed by those who had least to say which was likely to be profitable. So James counsels the members of the Church to be "swift to hear" and "slow to speak" in the religious assembly. While the office of the spiritual teacher is highly honorable, it is difficult to sustain it with honor. To do so demands superior intellectual power, keen spiritual insight, intimate acquaintance with Scripture, accurate knowledge of human nature, and a variety of other aptitudes which few possess. This dissuasive is needed by the modern Church little less than by the congregations of "the Dispersion." Our young men who aspire to the pulpit should consider well whether they have received a heavenly call thither. They should ponder the wise advice of an experienced pastor to a young student: "Do not enter the ministry if you can help it;" i.e. unless you have a burning desire to serve the Lord Jesus Christ as a preacher. This dissuasive reminds us also of Paul’s rule: "Not a novice" (1 Timothy 3:6). How often is the young convert, especially in times of feverish revivalism, encouraged to narrate his "experience," and to address large religious meetings, greatly to his own spiritual detriment, and to the damage of the cause of Christ! James’s counsel has a relation also to the pew. In its spirit it enjoins those who "hear the Word" to cultivate a docile and teachable frame of mind. Nothing hinders edification more than habits of pert and paltry criticism of the accidents of preaching. II. ITS GROUND. (Verses 1, 2) How weighty is the responsibility of the religious teacher! He undertakes to perform the most important of all kinds of work, and by the use of means which involve the most difficult of all attainments, even to a godly man. The minister of the gospel is especially tried as regards the government of the tongue; and, alas! the most experienced pastors, even James and his fellow-apostles,—often "stumble in word." Teachers who are habitually unfaithful are guilty of peculiarly heinous sin; they shall be indicted at the bar of God for blood-guiltiness. Since the pastor is like a city set on a hill, his errors work more mischief in society than those of an ordinary member of the Church. The lowest deep of perdition shall be occupied by unconverted preachers of the gospel. LESSONS. 1. To Christian teachers. Let us labor and pray, with heart and mind, and with books and pen, so that our pulpit utterances shall not be hasty or unguarded, and that we may be "pure from the blood of all men." 2. To the members of the Church. Give your minister your loving sympathy, and do not continually advertise and bewail his infirmities. Seeing that his work is so arduous, maintain the habit of constantly "helping" him with your prayers.—C.J. James 3:2-6 The Tower of the tongue. Passing from the peculiar responsibility which attaches to teachers of religion, James proceeds to speak generally of the enormous influence of the faculty of speech, especially upon the speaker himself, and of the abuse to which it is liable. I. A DIRECT OF THIS POWER. "If any stumbleth not in word, the same," etc. (verse 2). In most cases, the capacity to control one’s utterances indicates the measure of one’s attainment as regards the keeping of his heart. Sins of the tongue form so large a portion of our multitudinous "stumblings"—they so frequently help to seduce us into other sins—and they afford such a searching test of character, that any one who has learned to avoid riffling into them may without exaggeration be described as "a perfect man." Of course, no person lives in this world of whom it can be affirmed that he never errs in word. James has just remarked that "in many things we all stumble." But he is now suggesting an ideal case—that of a man who is perfectly free from lip-sins; and he asserts that such a person would be found to be both blameless and morally strong over the whole area of his character. The power which can bridle the tongue can control the entire nature. So great is the influence of human speech! II. SOME OF THIS POWER. (Verses 3-6) The apostle here compares the tongue first to two familiar mechanical appliances, and then to one of the mighty forces of nature. In all the three selected cases very insignificant-looking means suffice to accomplish great results. The illustrations are extremely graphic; each is more telling than the preceding. They together show that James, the apostle of practical Christianity, possessed the perceptions and the instincts of a poet. 1. The horse-bridle. (Verse 3) The first illustration only emphasizes the thought which underlies the word "bridle" in verse 2, and in James 1:26. The wild horses that roam at will over the American prairies seem quite unsubduable. Yet how complete is the control which man acquires over the tame horse! By means of the bit—the part of the bridle, which the animal bites—he is kept completely under command. The horse is controlled literally by the tongue. Now, in like manner, a man may "turn about his whole body" by subjecting his speech to firm self-government. The spirited steed of this verse may be regarded as a symbol of the flesh, with its lusts and passions. But the man who uses his tongue aright will find its influence very powerful in helping him to subdue his depraved carnal nature. 2. The shifts rudder. (James 1:4) Both romance and poetry gather round the idea of a ship. Even the old "galley with oars" was a "gallant" spectacle; and in our time there is no sight more picturesque than that of a sailing-vessel. "Behold! upon the murmuring waves A glorious shape appearing! A broad-winged vessel, through the shower Of glimmering luster steering! "She seems to hold her home in view, And sails as if the path she knew; So calm and stately in her motion Across the unfathomed, trackless ocean." (John Wilson) The merchantmen of the ancients were of considerable size (Acts 27:1-44., 28); but in our day naval architecture works on a colossal scale of which the ancients never dreamed. And what is it that directs the largest vessel so steadily on its course, and enables it to persevere even in spite of furious storms? It is simply that little tongue, or rudder, at the stern. The steering apparatus is "very small" in proportion to the bulk of the ship; but how wonderfully great its influence! It not only "turns about" the body of the vessel itself; its action is also powerful enough to counteract the driving force of "rough winds." Now, the faculty of speech is the rudder of human nature. The tongue "boasteth great things;" and well it may, for "death and life are in its power" (Proverbs 18:21). If the spirited horse is a symbol of the flesh, the "rough winds" which beat upon the ship are suggestive of the world. The rudder of speech, rightly directed, will help us to continue straight on our heavenward course, despite the fierce gusts and gales of external temptation. 3. The little fire. (James 1:5, James 1:6) What a terrific power there is in fire! One tiny neglected spark may kindle a conflagration that will consume a city. The great fire of 1666 in London, which began in a little wooden shop near London Bridge, burned down every building between the Tower and the Temple. And how terrible are the seas of fire, kindled often by some casual spark, which roll along the prairies of North America! The power of a little tongue of flame is simply stupendous; and thus it is a most apposite illustration of the destructive energy of human speech. For "the tongue is a fire." Sometimes this tremendous power is exerted for good; indeed, the "tongue of fire" is the appropriate emblem of Christianity as the dispensation of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:3). More usually, however, fire is contemplated as an instrument of evil. So "the tongue is a fire" as regards its intense energy. Unsanctified speech scorches and consumes. The liar scatters firebrands; the slanderer kindles lambent flames; the profane swearer spits the fire of hell into the face of God. "The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue;" i.e. a whole microcosm of evil resides within the sphere of its operation. It "defileth the whole body;" just as fire soils with its smoke, the tongue stirs up the heart’s corruption, and uses it to stain one’s own life and character. It "setteth on fire the wheel of nature;"—for the whole circle of an unsanctified life, from birth onwards, is kept burning by the evil tongue. And it "is set on fire by hell;" for the ultimate inspiration of this destructive agency is of internal origin. This fire is devil-lighted, hell-kindled. Satan loaded the human tongue at the Fall with dynamite; and every day he ignites the treacherous magazine from the unquenchable fire. Thus, as the spirited horse represents the flesh, and the fierce winds the world, the raging fire leads us to think of the devil—the power of "the evil one." . Let us earnestly seek the grace of God, to deliver our tongue from the deceits of the world, the flesh, and the devil. Let us guard the portals of our lips, so that no uncharitable or slanderous words may issue from them. Let us welcome the Pentecostal "tongue of fire," that it may purify us from the evil tongue which is "set on fire by hell."—C.J. James 3:7-12 The tongue ungovernable and inconsistent. At first the apostle had reminded his readers that speech may be made a great power for good (James 3:2-4). Then he went on to say that in actual fact it is employed by most men as an engine of evil (James 3:5, James 3:6). He proceeds now to justify his strong language on this point. I. THE OF THE TONGUE. (James 3:7, James 3:8) We have here a fourfold classification of the inferior creatures. God gave man dominion over them at the creation, and intimated his supremacy anew after the Flood. There is no variety of brute nature that has not yielded in the past, and that does not continue to yield, to the lordship of human nature. The horse, the dog, the elephant, the lion, the leopard, the tiger, the hyena; the partridge, the falcon, the eagle; the asp, the cobra; the crocodile;—these names suggest ample evidence of man’s power to tame the most diverse species of wild animals. But, says James, there is one little creature which human nature, in its own strength, finds it impossible to domesticate. The tongue of man is fiercer than the most ferocious beast, The rebellion of our race against good is far more inveterate than any insubordination of the brutes. Indeed, the revolt of the lower creatures against the authority of man is only the shadow and symbol of man’s revolt against the authority of God. Year by year man is subduing the earth and extending his dominion over it; but his natural power to govern the tongue remains as feeble as it was in the days of Cain. This "little member" reveals the appalling depths of human corruption. "It is a restless evil;" unstable, fickle, versatile; ever stirring about from one form of unrighteousness to another; assuming Protean shapes and chameleon hues; its words sometimes filthy, sometimes slanderous, sometimes profane, sometimes angry, sometimes idle. And the untamed tongue "is full of deadly poison." It is a worse poison-bag than that of the most hurtful serpent. The words of a false tongue are fangs of moral venom, for which no human skill can supply an antidote. Is not calumny just a foul virus injected into the social body, which kills character, happiness, and sometimes even life? Its venom spreads far and wide, and man is powerless to destroy it. II. THE OF THE TONGUE. (Verses 9-12) The same person may just now put the faculty of speech to its highest use; and, almost immediately afterwards, wickedly abuse it. The tongue has been given us that therewith we may "bless the Lord and Father;" and to utter the Divine praise is the most ennobling exercise of human speech. The Christian calls him "Lord," and adores him for his eternal Godhead; he also calls him "Father," and blesses him for his adopting grace. Then, with melancholy inconsistency, the same mouth which has been praising God may be heard invoking evil upon men. How often do those who profess godliness speak passionate and spiteful words! Do not Christians who belong to the same congregation sometimes backbite one another? Do not believers of different communions often, out of mere sectarian rivalry, denounce one another’s Churches? Even godly men sometimes cherish the spirit which would "forbid" others to work the work of the Lord, simply because these are not of their company. Now, such inconsistency is seen in all its aggravation when we consider the fact that truly to bless God forbids the cursing of any man. "The Lord" is the "Father" of all men, for men "are made after the likeness of God." In his princely intellect, and his hungering heart, and even in his uneasy conscience, man reflects the image of his Maker. God and he are so close of kin to each other—by nature, and through Christ’s incarnation—that real reverence for God requires that we "honor all men." How inconsistent, then, for the same mouth to bless the Father and to curse the children! The inconsistency appears on the very face of the English word "curse." To curse means primarily "to invoke evil upon one, by the sign of the cross." The cross is the symbol of the highest blessing to the world; and yet those who enjoy the blessedness which it brings have used it as an instrument of cursing. We bless God for the cross; and then we curse men in the name of the cross. Such inconsistency, the apostle adds, is flagrantly unnatural (verses 11, 12). None such is to be met with in the physical world. A spring of water cannot transgress the law of its nature. A fruit tree can only bear fruit according to its kind. How unnatural, then, that in the moral world the same fountain of speech should emit just now a rill of clear sweet praise, and soon afterwards a torrent of bitter slander, or a stream of brackish minced oaths! Where a true believer falls into this sinful inconsistency, it is because the fountain of the old nature within his heart has not yet been closed up. He needs to have the accursed tree on which Jesus died cast into the bitter stream within him, to sweeten it, and to make it a river of living water. In the case of a soul that has experienced the renewing grace of the Holy Spirit, this unnatural inconsistency of speech not only "ought not so to be," but does not need to be.—C.J. James 3:13-16 False wisdom. The apostle suggests here that those who aspired too hastily to become Christian teachers (James 3:1) showed themselves to be sadly deficient in wisdom. They were unwise at once in their estimate of their own powers, and in their judgment as to the kind of public discussions, which would be profitable for the Church. The cause of gospel truth could never be advanced by dogmatic disputations or bitter personal wrangling. Attend, therefore, says James in verse 13, to a description first of false wisdom, and then of true (verses 17, 18). Many members of the Churches of "the Dispersion" desired to appear "wise" (verse 13), but only some were really so. Many might even be "knowing," or "endued with knowledge," who were not wise. "Knowledge and wisdom, far from being one, Have ofttimes no connection." (Cowper) Knowledge is only a hewer of wood, while wisdom is the architect and builder. A man may possess a large library, or even amass vast stores of knowledge, and yet be "a motley fool." Indeed, no fool is so great as a knowing fool. The wise man is he who can use his knowledge for the largest moral and spiritual good. And the true wisdom is bound up with the life of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Job 28:28; 2 Timothy 3:15). It makes the will of God its rule, and his glory its end. So the man who lives without God should be thought of as the impersonation of stupidity, and Satan as the supreme fool of the universe. But, if a man be "wise unto salvation," how will his wisdom appear? 1. By "his good life." (Verse 13) The quiet even flow of one’s daily occupation will furnish an ample sphere for it. Even the heathen philosopher, Seneca, has said, "Wisdom does not show itself so much in precept as in life—in a firmness of mind and a mastery of appetite. It teaches us to do, as well as to talk; and to make our words and actions all of a color." The weighty ’Essays’ of Lord Bacon "come home to men’s business and bosoms;" yet their author cannot justly be called "the wisest," if he was in his own life "the meanest of mankind." 2. By "his works in meekness of wisdom." Character is perceived not only by its subtle aroma, but in connection with individual actions. Wisdom shows itself in acts of holiness. And these acts are done "in meekness," which is one of wisdom’s inseparable attributes. True wisdom is mild and calm, patient and self-restraining. And yet a meek spirit is not a mean spirit. The "poor in spirit" are not the poor-spirited. The "meekness of wisdom" consists with the greatest courage and the most ardent zeal. An old commentator says, "Moses was very meek in his own cause, but as hot as fire in the cause of God." And the Man Christ Jesus was mild, just because he was strong and brave. There was no fierceness, no fanaticism, no sourness, about him. He is our perfect Pattern of the "meekness of wisdom" (1 Peter 2:22, 1 Peter 2:23; Matthew 27:12-14). The spirit of strife and wrangling is not the spirit of Christ. James now proceeds to a statement of principles regarding false or earthly wisdom. I. ITS NATURE. (Verse 14) The spurious wisdom of the "many teachers’ carried in it not so much burning zeal as "bitter zeal." Its spirit was factious, arrogant, bigoted, Its roots lay in the angry passions of the heart. Its aim was personal victory rather than the triumph of the truth. While it may be sometimes dutiful to contend earnestly in defense of the gospel, the love of controversy for its own sake, and the cherishing of a contentious spirit towards brethren, is always sinful, much less a ground for "glorying." A professing Christian who lives to foster either doctrinal wranglings or social quarrels presents to the world a caricature of Christianity, and is himself a living lie "against the truth." II. ITS ORIGIN. (Verse 15) 1. "Earthly." Every good gift is from above; but this so-called wisdom is of earthly origin, and busies itself about earthly things. Those cultivate it whose souls are wholly immersed in worldly pursuits. 2. "Sensual;" i.e. psychical or natural, as opposed to spiritual. It originates in the lower sphere of man’s intellectual nature; it is the wisdom of his unspiritual mind and his unsanctified heart. Until the human spirit becomes possessed by the Spirit of God, its works will be "the works of the flesh." 3. "Devilish." The false wisdom is demoniacal in source, as it is in character. The envious heart, like the evil tongue, "is set on fire by hell" (verse 6). Implicitly followed, this wisdom will tend to make a man "half-beast, half-devil." These three adjectives correspond to our three great spiritual enemies. Earthly wisdom has its origin in the world; natural wisdom, in the flesh; demoniacal wisdom, in the devil. And, recognizing this, our prayer should be, "From all such deceits, good Lord, deliver us." III. ITS RESULTS. (Verse 16) Where there are "bitter zeal and faction" in the heart, these may be expected to produce commotion and wretchedness in society. What misery has not the spirit of strife and self-seeking wrought in the midst of families, and in the bosom of Churches! It is a fruitful source of heart-burnings and of lifelong alienations. It sows tares among the wheat. And the harvest of "this wisdom" shall be "a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow." 1. Loathe the vile spirit of strife. 2. Covet earnestly the gift of holy wisdom. 3. Remember that the climax of the true wisdom consists in meekness.—C.J. James 3:17, James 3:18 True wisdom. These two verses exhibit, with much terseness and beauty, the features of the true or heavenly wisdom, i.e. the characteristic qualities of the state of mind, which is produced by a sincere reception of saving truth. The picture here presented forms a direct contrast to the description of false or earthly wisdom given in James 3:14-16. I. THE NATURE OF TRUE WISDOM. (James 3:17) In origin it is "from above." It is not the product of self-culture, but altogether supernatural and gracious. And, being a gift of God, it is "good" and "perfect" in all its characteristics (James 1:5, James 1:17). James here represents the heavenly wisdom as possessed of seven great excellences. Seven was the perfect number among the Jews; and there are, so to speak, seven notes in the harmony of Christian character; or seven colors in the rainbow of the Christian life, which, when blended, form its pure white sunlight. Of these seven, the first is marked off from the others, because it refers to what a man is within his own heart; while the other six deal with the qualities shown by true wisdom in connection with one’s deportment towards his fellow-men. 1. In respect of a man himself. Here true wisdom is "pure." This word means chaste, unsullied, holy. Purity is the fundamental characteristic of everything that is "from above." Righteousness lies at the foundation of all that is beautiful in character. Christian wisdom leads a man "to keep himself unspotted from the world," and to "cleanse himself from all defilement of flesh and spirit." Every person, therefore, who lives a sensual, selfish, or openly sinful life, shows himself to be destitute of the heavenly wisdom. For its chief element is holiness—that purity which is obtained through the blood of Christ and by the indwelling of his Spirit. 2. In respect of his demeanor towards his fellow-men. The expressions, "first," and "then," do not imply that the wise man must be perfectly "pure" before he begins to be "peaceable." They indicate the logical order, and not merely the order of time. The phrase, "first pure, then peaceable," has often been sadly abused in the interests of the "bitter jealousy and faction" which belong to false wisdom. But surely, even in doctrinal matters, we are to be peaceable with a view to purity, as well as pure for the sake of peace. "Peaceable;" indisposed to conflict or dissension. "Jealousy and faction" are characteristics of earthly wisdom. The heavenly wisdom deprecates disputatious debate, and labors to quench animosities. "Gentle;" forbearing, courteous, considerate. Gentleness is just the outward aspect of the grace of peaceableness, the vesture in which the peaceable spirit should be clothed. "Easy to be entreated;" accessible, compliant, open to conviction, and willing to listen to remonstrance. The wise man thinks more about his duties than his rights. "Full of mercy and good fruits;" overflowing with feelings of kindness and compassion, and finding a healthy outlet for these in acts of practical beneficence. "Without variance;" steady, persistent, unmistakable, never "divided in its own mind" (James 2:4; James 1:6), and therefore never halting in the fulfillment of its mission. "Without hypocrisy;" perfectly sincere always really being what it seems and professes. Wisdom’s ways are not tortuous. It knows that a straight line is the shortest distance between two points. II. THE RESULTS OF TRUE WISDOM. (Verse 18) The fruit of the earthly wisdom is "confusion and every vile deed" (verse 16), but the fruit of the heavenly wisdom consists in "righteousness." "Peace" is the congenial soil in which this wisdom takes root and grows; the seed "sown" is the precious Word of God; they "that make peace" are the spiritual farmers who scatter it in hope; and "righteousness" is the blessed harvest which shall reward their toil. The eternal recompense of the righteous shall be their righteousness itself. The heavenly wisdom shall be its own reward in heaven. 1. The harmony between this doctrine and the teaching of our Lord in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12), as well as that of Paul in his portraiture of love (1 Corinthians 13:1-13). 2. The excellency and attractiveness of the true wisdom. 3. The rarity of its acquisition, especially as regards its choicest features, even on the part of professing Christians. 4. The necessity of asking this wisdom from God himself. 5. The character of Jesus Christ our Model in our endeavors after it.—C.J. BY T.F. LOCKYER The ethics of speech. In these verses is dealt a rebuke against the craving for authority, which, as he reminds them, involves "heavier judgment." How? Partly as coming under judgment itself (see Matthew 23:8-10); partly as involving increased responsibility. And responsibility and judgment are very near akin. More especially, in these words of warning, he has in view that confused assembly of theirs, in which all vied together in attempts to speak. How great the danger of "stumbling" in such speech! A stirring up of impatience, rancor, strife. This leads to thoughts on the power of the tongue, for good and for harm; with practical conclusions as to the inconsistency of unbridled speech. I. THE POWER OF THE TONGUE. 1. For good. (James 3:2-5) Speech? It is the quick, instinctive, volatile expression of the man. A subtle effluence, showing the inner life. And as the inner life is agitated and stirred, tossing first this way, then that, how readily may the words also be committed to the impulses of the heart! And as those impulses may so easily be, for the moment, wrong impulses, how easily may wrong words be spoken! And so the transient feeling has fixed itself in a word that bites, and is not forgotten. And the feeling itself is fixed by the word that has uttered it; the man is committed to what otherwise he might have been glad to forget. James’s first meaning, then, in the statement that the man who stumbles not in words is "a perfect man," is perhaps this: that one who has attained to mastery over so subtle and delicate an activity of the nature as speech, is perforce a man who has mastered all the more tangible and more controllable activities. The "whole body," all conduct, is brought into subjection, if this element of life is rightly swayed. Is it not so? Your experience will tell you that this is the last, the most intractable of the activities which you are called on to subdue. But there is another meaning in the words than this. The man who schools himself to such restraint as absolute mastery over speech implies, has not merely learned perfection of self-control in the matter of other and more tangible activities, but is learning a better perfection than that—even the self-restraint of his whole interior nature. To restrain conduct is much; but to restrain thought, purpose, passion! to lay a firm, a mastering control on all the complex desires and impulses of our nature! Oh, surely that is a perfection of self-restraint indeed! And the bridling of the tongue means thus the bridling of the unruly passions of the heart. The restraint of expression is the restraint of the impulse that seeks to express itself (see for converse of this law the former exposition, where we have noticed how the exercise of a faculty perfects the faculty that is exercised: James 2:22). Do you not know this also from your experience? Let loose the word, and you have let loose the feeling; conquer the word, and you have conquered the feeling. So, then, the illustrations: the bridle, the helm. And the tongue, a little member, boasteth great things. 2. For harm. (Verses 5-8) The remarks under this head have been partly anticipated above. Let loose the word, and you have let loose the passions. An unbridled tongue is an unbridled nature. Unchecked speech is unchecked wickedness. Yes; the activities of the man and the interior impulses are alike let loose for harm if the tongue be uncontrolled. Illustrations: fire among wood. So the "world of iniquity," defiling the body, setting on fire the wheel of nature, and itself set on fire of hell! And then? Tame the tongue, and tame the nature, who may! Even ravenous and noxious creatures are not untamable as that is; a restless evil; full of deadly poison. So the psalmist (140:3). And your experience? A subtle, insinuating poison, which works its way into your whole nature, and infects all social joy. II. THE OF SPEECH. Picture their quarrelsome assemblies again: their invectives against one another, their common virulence towards the Gentile Christian Churches. And withal hymns to God! That is, hate and love in the same heart together, and all essentially towards God himself (verse 9)! The inconsistency (verse 10). So illustrations: fountain, tree (verses 11, 12). These contrarieties, impossible in nature, can exist in us! And yet in truth they cannot. For ours is one nature. Can salt water yield fresh (verse 12)? Neither can a cursing nature bless, or a hating nature love. And so our very praise is vitiated, and our worship becomes blasphemy. Oh, what are our dangers daily in this matter of speech! And perhaps, to shun them, we say we will hold our peace, even from good (Psalms 39:1-13). Nay, but we must rather learn of him who was meek and lowly in heart. And so our speech shall be pure as his was, and our turbulent nature shall find rest.—T.F.L. Wisdom, true and false. The temptation to be "teachers" (James 3:1) arose from the notion that they possessed wisdom. How shall they show this wisdom, how shall they even use it, if they may not teach? The life is to be at once the practice and the manifestation of a wisdom that is true (James 3:13). James here reverts to his earlier theme (James 1:5); and we have for our consideration—The false wisdom and the true, in their origin, nature, and fruits. I. THE FALSE WISDOM. 1. What was the nature of the false wisdom which prompted them to much speaking? It was nothing other than the spirit of faction and jealousy—competing with one another for precedence; envying one another. And this was a lying against the truth! What truth? Their brotherhood in Christ, and the love which such brotherhood required. Such false wisdom was: (1) Earthly: it pertained altogether to the corrupt ways of this world. (2) Sensual: it was prompted, not by the spirit which God had made his home, but by the passions (see critical notes). (3) Devilish: they were as demoniacs, in their ungoverned rage and wild clamorings. 2. What were the fruits of such wisdom as this? "Confusion." Think of their assemblies, with the wrangling, cursing, and swearing! so also confusion in all the relations of social life. "And every vile deed;" for what would not men descend to, to further their base, party aims? 3. What was the origin of such wisdom? "Not from above:" no, indeed, but rather "set on fire of hell"! II. THE TRUE WISDOM. 1. Its nature. "First pure:" for at any cost, even at the cost of peaceableness, a Christian must be true. So Christ, even though it involved the "woes" of Matthew 23:1-39.; even though it involved the cross! And his followers likewise (Matthew 10:34). "Then peaceable," as against the jarrings and discords of the false wisdom; "gentle," as against faction and jealousy; "easy to be entreated," as against the sullen resentments shown by those who imagine themselves to be offended; "without variance," i.e. fickleness of purpose; and "without hypocrisy," to which double-mindedness so easily leads. 2. Its fruits. Peace, as opposed to confusion; and the good fruits of mercy, as opposed to vile deeds. 3. Its origin. "From above:" yes, from the Father of lights (James 1:17). So the tongues of fire (Acts 2:3). Who is a wise man? Alas, who! But let us ask of God, who giveth liberally; remembering that "he that winneth souls is wise," and that "they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and … as the stars forever and ever" (Proverbs 11:30; Daniel 12:3).—T.F.L. James 4:1-12 REBUKE OF ARISING FROM PRIDE AND GREED. A terribly sadden transition from the "peace" with which James 3:1-18. closed. James 4:1 Whence wars and whence fightings among you? The second "whence" (πόθεν) is omitted in the Received Text, after K, L, Syriac, and Vulgate; but it is supported by à, A, B, C, the Coptic, and Old Latin. Wars … fightings (πόλεμοι … μάχαι). To what is the reference? Μάχαι occurs elsewhere in the New Testament only in 2 Corinthians 7:5, "Without were fightings, within were fears;" and 2 Timothy 2:23; Titus 3:9, in both of which passages it refers to disputes and questions. It is easy, therefore, to give it the same meaning here. Πόλμοι, elsewhere in the New Testament, as in the LXX., is always used of actual warfare. In behalf of its secondary meaning, "contention," Grimm (’Lexicon of New Testament Greek’) appeals to Sophocles, ’Electra,’ 1. 219, and Plato, ’Phaed.,’ p. 66, c. But it is better justified by Clement of Rome, § 46., Ινατίἔρειςκαὶθυμοὶκαὶδιχοστσασίαικαὶσχίσματαπόλεμοςτεἐνὑῖν—a passage which has almost the nature of a commentary upon St. James’s language. There is then no need to seek an explanation of the passage in the outbreaks and insurrections which were so painfully common among the Jews. Lusts (ἡδονῶν); R.V., "pleasures." "An unusual sense of ἡδοναί, hardly distinguishable from ἐπιθυμίαι, in fact taken up by ἐπιθυμεῖτε" (Alford). With the expression, "that war in your members," comp. 1 Peter 2:11, "Abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul." James 4:2 Gives us an insight into the terrible difficulties with which the apostles had to contend. Those to whom St. James was writing were guilty of lust, which actually led to murder. So the charge in 1 Peter 4:15 evidently presupposes the possibility of a professing Christian suffering as a murderer or thief. Ye kill. The marginal rendering "envy" supplies a remarkable instance of a false reading once widely adopted, although resting simply on conjecture. There is no variation in the manuscripts or ancient versions. All alike have φονεύετε. But, owing to the startling character of the expression in an address to Christians, Erasmus suggested that perhaps φθονεῖτε, "ye envy," was the original reading, and actually inserted it in the second edition of his Greek Testament. In his third edition he wisely returned to the true reading, although, strangely enough, he retained the false one, "invidetis," in his Latin version, whence it passed into that of Beza and others. The Greek φθονεῖτε appears, however, in a few later editions, e.g. three editions published at Basle, 1524 (Bebelius), 1546 (Herwagius), and 1553 (Beyling), in that of Henry Stephens, 1576; and even so late as 1705 is found in an edition of Oritius. In England the reading obtained a wide currency, being actually adopted in all the versions in general use previous to that of 1611, viz. those of Tyndale, Coverdale, Taverner, the Bishops Bible, and the Geneva Version. The Authorized Version relegated it to the margin, from which it has been happily excluded by the Revisers, and thus, it is to be hoped, it has finally disappeared. Ye kill, and desire to have. The combination is certainly strange. Dean Scott sees in the terms a possible allusion to "the well-known politico-religious party of the zealots," and suggests the rendering, "ye play the murderers and zealots." It is, perhaps, more probable that ζηλοῦτε simply refers to covetousness; cf. the use of the word (although with a better meaning) in 1 Corinthians 12:31; 1 Corinthians 14:1, 1 Corinthians 14:39. James 4:3 An evident allusion to the sermon on the mount, Matthew 7:7, "Ask, and it shall be given to you … for every one that asketh receiveth." And yet St. James says, "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss;" for our Lord elsewhere limits his teaching, "All things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer believing," etc. (Matthew 21:22). Αἰτεῖτε … αἰτεῖσθε. The active and middle voices are similarly interchanged in 1 John 5:15, on which Dr. Westcott writes as follows: "The distinction between the middle and the active is not so sharply drawn; but generally the personal reference is suggested by the middle, while the request is left wholly undefined as to its destination by the active." That ye may consume it upon your lusts; render, with R.V., that ye may spend it in your pleasures; ἡδοναί, as in 1 John 5:1. James 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses. Omit μοιχοὶκαί, with à, A, B. The Vulgate has simply adulteri; the Old Latin (ff), fornicatores. Similarly the Syriae. Very strange is this sudden exclamation, "ye adulteresses!" and very difficult to explain. The same word (μοιχαλίς) is used as a feminine adjective by our Lord in the expression, "an evil and adulterous generation"; and in this possibly lies the explanation of St. James’s use of the term. More probably, however, it should be accounted for as a reminiscence of Eze 23:45, where we read of Samaria and Jerusalem under the titles of Aholah and Aholibah: "The righteous men, they shall judge them after the manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women that shed blood; because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands." It is remarkable too that in Malachi 3:5 the LXX. has μοιχαλίδες, although the Hebrew has the masculine, and men are evidently referred to. If, then, in the Old Testament the Jewish communities were personified as adulteresses, it is not unnatural for St. James to transfer the epithet to those Judaeo-Christian communities to which he was writing; and the word should probably be taken, just as in the Old Testament, of spiritual fornication, i.e. apostasy from God, shown in this case, not by actual idolatry, but by that "friendship of the world" which is "enmity with God," and by "covetousness which is idolatry." Φιλία. The word occurs here only in the New Testament. With the thought of this verse, compare our Lord’s words in John 15:18, John 15:19. James 4:5, James 4:6 The difficulty of the passage is well shown by the hesitation of the Revisers. The first clause is rendered, "Or think ye that the Scripture speaketh in vain?" but as an alternative there is suggested in the margin, "Or think ye that the Scripture saith in vain?" as if the following clause were a quotation from Scripture. And of this following clause three possible renderings are suggested. (1) In the text: "Doth the Spirit which he made to dwell in us long unto envying? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore the Scripture saith," etc. (2) Margin 1: "The Spirit which he made to dwell in us he yearneth for even unto jealous envy. But he giveth," etc. (3) Margin 2: "That Spirit which he made to dwell in us yearneth for us even unto jealous envy. But he giveth," etc. Further, it is noted in the margin that some ancient authorities read "dwelleth in us," i.e. κατώκησεν, which is the reading of the Received Text, and so of the A.V. resting upon K, L; à and B being the primary authorities for κατώκισεν. With regard to the first clause, the rendering of the R.V., "speaketh," may be justified by Hebrews 9:5. It is possible that St. James was intending to quote Proverbs 3:34 immediately, but after the introductory formula, ἢδοκεῖτεὅτικενῶςἡγραφὴλέγει, he interposes with the emphatic question, "Is it to envy," etc.? and does not arrive at the quotation till Proverbs 3:6, when he introduces it with a fresh formula of quotation, διὸλέγει, a looseness of construction which is quite natural in a Hebrew. Other views, for which it is believed there is less to be urged, are the following: (1) that the words, πρὸςφθονόν, κ.τ.λ., are a quotation from some (now lost) early Christian writing. On this view the passage is parallel to Ephesians 5:14, where a portion of a Christian hymn is introduced by the words, διὸλέγει. (2) That St. James is referring to the general drift rather than to the exact words of several passages of the Old Testament; e.g. Genesis 6:3-5; Deuteronomy 32:10, Deuteronomy 32:19, etc. (3) That the allusion is to some passage of the New Testament, either Galatians 5:17 or 1 Peter 2:1, etc. Passing on to the translation of the second clause, πρὸςφθονόνκ.τ.λ., it must be noted that φθονός is never used elsewhere in the New Testament or in the LXX. (Wis. 6:25; 1 Macc 8:16) or in the apostolic Fathers except in a bad sense. True that Exodus 20:5 teaches us that God is a "jealous God," but there the LXX. renders אנק by the far nobler word ζηλωτής: cf. Wolf, ’Curae Philippians Crit.,’ p. 64, where it is noted that, while ζῆλος is a vex media, the same cannot be said of φθονός, which is always vitiosa, and is never used by the LXX. ubi vox Hebraica האנק ad Deum vel homines relatus exprimendus est. This seems to be a fatal objection to the marginal readings of the Revised Version, and to compel us to rest content with that adopted in the text, "Doth the Spirit which he made to dwell in us long unto envying?" or rather, "Is it to envying that the Spirit … longs?" πρὸςφθονόν being placed for emphasis at the beginning of the sentence. James 4:6 God resisteth the proud. The connection of this with James 4:4 is very close, and is favorable to the view taken above as to the meaning of the first clause of Jas 4:5, as the words appear to be cited in support of the statement that whosoever would be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. The quotation is from Proverbs 3:34, LXX., Κύριοςὑπερηφάνοιςἀντιτάσσεται, ταπεινοῖςδὲδίδωσιχάριν. St. James’s version agrees with this exactly, except that it has ὁΘεὸς instead of Κύριος (the Hebrew has simply "he," ran). The passage is also quoted in precisely the same form by St. Peter (1 Peter 5:5), and with Θεὸς instead of ὁΘεός by St. Clement of Rome. In St. Peter the quotation is followed by the injunction, "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God ... Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom withstand (ᾦἀντίστητε) steadfast in the faith." There is clearly a connection between this passage and the one before us in St. James, which proceeds, "Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil (ἀντίστητεδὲτῷδιαβόλῳ), and he will flee from you." This passage, it will be felt, is the simpler, and therefore, probably, the earlier of the two (cf. James 1:3). James 4:7-10 Exhortation based on the preceding, quite in the style of a prophet of the Old Testament. James 4:7 Read, but resist, etc. (ἀντίστητεδέ), à, A, B, Coptic, Vulgate. James 4:8 Draw nigh to God (ἐγγίσατετῷΘεῷ). A phrase used of approach to God under the old covenant (see Exodus 19:22; Exodus 34:30; Le Exodus 10:3). Equally necessary under the new covenant is it for those who draw near to God to have "clean hands and a pure heart" (Psalms 24:4). Hence the following injunction: "Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded." James 4:9 St. James’s version of "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted" (Matthew 5:4). Be afflicted. Ταλαιπωρήσατε: only here in the New Testament, occasionally in the LXX. Heaviness. Κατήφεια: another ἄπαξλεγόμενον, apparently never found in the LXX. or in the apostolic Fathers; it is, however, used by Josephus and Philo. It is equivalent to "dejection," and "exactly describes the attitude of the publican, who would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, Luke 18:13 (Plumptre)." James 4:10 Humble yourselves, etc. A further parallel with our Lord’s teaching, St. James’s words being perhaps suggested by the saying recorded in Matthew 23:1-39. 12, "Whosoever shall humble himself shall be exalted" (ὑψωθήσεται, as here, "He shall lift you up," ὑψώσει). In the sight of the Lord (ἐνώπιον). The article (τοῦ) in the Received Text is certainly wrong. It is wanting in a, A, B, K. The anarthrous Κύριος is used by St. James here and in James 5:4, James 5:10 (with which contrast James 5:14), and 1 l, as equivalent to the "Jehovah" of the Old Testament, which is represented in the LXX. by Κύριος without the article. James 4:11, James 4:12 Warning against censorious depreciation of others. James 4:11 Speak not evil. Καταλαλεῖν: only here and 1 Peter 2:12; 1 Peter 3:16. Vulgate, detrahere. But the context shows that the writer is thinking rather of harsh censorious judging. R.V., "Speak not one against another." And judgeth; rather, or judgeth; ἢ (à, A, B, Vulgate, Syriac, Coptic) for καὶ of the Textus Receptus. Speaketh evil of the law. What law? According to Dean Plumptre, "the royal law of Christ, which forbids judging (Matthew 7:1-5)." Alford: "The law of Christian life: the old moral Law, glorified and amplified by Christ: the νόμοςβασιλικός of James 2:8; νόμοςτῆςἐλευθερίας of James 1:25." Huther: "the law of Christian life which, according to its contents, is none other than the law of love." James 4:12 To play the part of a censor is to assume the office of a judge. But this is an office which belongs to God and not to man (cf. Romans 14:3, Romans 14:4). The first words of the verse should be rendered as follows: "One only is the Lawgiver and Judge:" the last words, καὶκριτής, omitted in the Received Text, being found in à, A, B, and most versions, the Latin, Syriac, and Coptic. In the last clause also the Received Text requires correction. Read, Σὺδὲτίςεἷ (insert δὲ, à, A, B, L, K, Latin, Syriac, Coptic) ὁκρίνωντὸνπλήσιον (à, A, B). James 4:13-17 OF OVER-WEENING IN OUR OWN PLANS AND OUR ABILITY TO PERFORM THEM. James 4:13 Go to; Ἄγε, properly, the imperative, but here used adverbially, a usage common in Greek prose, and found again in James 5:1. The Received Text (Stephens) requires some correction in this verse. Read, σήμερονἢαὔριον with à, B; the futures πορεύσομεθαποιήσομενἐμπορευσόμεθα and κερδήσομεν (B, Latt., Syriac) instead of the subjunctives; and omit ἔνα after ἐνιαυτόν, with a, B, Latt., Coptic. Continue there a year; rather, spend a year there, ἐνιαυτὸν being the object of the verb and not the accusative of duration. For ποιεῖν, used of time, cf. Acts 15:33; Acts 18:23; Acts 20:3; 2 Corinthians 11:25. The Latins use facto in the same way; e.g. Cicero, ’Ad Attic.,’ 5. 20, "Apamea quinque dies morati … Iconii decem fecimus." James 4:14 Fortifies the rebuke of Jas 4:13 by showing the folly of their action; cf. Proverbs 27:1, "Boast not thyself of tomorrow (τὰεἰςαὔριον), for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." Whereas ye know not; rather, seeing that, or, inasmuch as ye know not, etc. (οἵτινεςοὐκἐπίστασθε). The text in this verse again in a somewhat disorganized condition, but the general drift is clear. We should probably read, Οἵτινεςοὐκἐπίστασθετὸτῆςαὔριονποίαἡζωὴὑμῶνἀτμὶςγὰρἐστεἡπρὸςὀλίγονφαινομένηἔπειτακαὶἀφανιζομένη, R.V., "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. What is your life? For ye are a vapor, our that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away." James 4:15 For that ye ought to say (ἀντὶτοῦλέγειν); literally, instead of your saying; ἀντὶτοῦ, with the infinitive, "saepe apud Graecos" (Grimm). This verse follows in thought on James 4:13, James 4:14 having been parenthetical. "Go to now, ye that say … instead of your saying (as ye ought), If the Lord will," etc. Once more the text requires correction, as the futures ζήσομεν and ποιήσομεν should be read (with à, A, B), instead of the subjunctives of the Received Text. It is generally agreed now that the verse should be rendered," If the Lord will, we shall both live and do this or that." But it is possible to divide it differently, and to render as follows: "If the Lord will, and we live, we shall also do this or that." Vulgate, si Dominus voluerit et si [omit si, Codex Amiat.] vixerimus, faciemus, etc.. James 4:16 But now. As is actually the case, "ye glory in your vauntings." ἈλαζονείΑ: only here and in 1 John 2:16; in the LXX., in 2 Macc. 9:8 and Wis. 5:8. It is a favorite word with St. Clement of Rome. On its meaning and distinction from ὑπερηφανία and other kindred words, see Trench on ’ Synonyms,’ p. 95; and cf. Westcott on the ’Epistles of St. John,’ p. 64. The vice of the ἀλάζων "centers in self and is consummated in his absolute self-exaltation, while the ὑπερήφανος shows his character by his overweening treatment of others. The ἀλάζων sins most against truth; the ὑπερήφανος sins most against love." This extract will serve to show the fitness of ἀλαζονεία rather than ὑπερηφανία in the passage before us. The verse should be rendered, as in R.V., "But now ye glory (καυχᾶσθε) in your vauntings: all such glorying (καύχησις) is evil." Καύχησις is the act, not the matter (καύχημα), of glorying. James 4:17 Conclusion of the section. "Some have supposed a direct reference to Romans 14:23, ’Whatsover is not of faith is sin.’ We can scarcely assume so much; but the correspondence is very remarkable, and St. James supplements St. Paul. It is sin to doubt whether a thing be right, and yet do it. It is also sin to know that a thing is right, and yet to leave it undone" (Dean Scott, in the ’Speaker’s Commentary’). The origin of strife sad conflict to be sought in selfish lust. Our "members" are the field of battle in which, or rather the instruments with which, the conflict is fought; and all the while they are really warring against the soul (1 Peter 2:11). The conflict, therefore, is a suicidal one. James 4:2, James 4:3 "Ye ask amiss, that ye may spend it on your pleasures." Prayer is not to be selfish, or for the satisfaction of corrupt appetites; and where the spirit of prayer is absent there is no promise to prayer. "Incredible as it might seem that men plundering and murdering, as the previous verses represent them, should have been in any sense men who prayed, the history of Christendom presents but too many instances of like anomalies. Cornish wreckers going from church to their accursed work; Italian brigands propitiating their patron saint before attacking a company of travelers; slave-traders, such as John Newton once was, recording piously God’s blessing on their traffic of the year;—these may serve to show how soon conscience may be seared, and its warning voice come to give but an uncertain sound (Plumptre). "The friendship of the world is enmity with God." And yet men still strive to retain the friendship of both; to "make the best of both worlds;" to serve God and mammon. Holy Scripture steadily sets its face throughout against compromise in matters of principle, against that spirit of "give and take" which is often the world’s highest wisdom, and in which the worldly politician is prone not merely to acquiesce but to delight. God’s claims are absolute, and admit no rival. Whoever hankers after the friendship of the world is ipso facto (καθίσταται) God’s enemy. Nay, more; such a sin in one who has given his heart to God becomes the sin of the unfaithful wife looking away from her husband, and casting longing eyes on a stranger; and those who are guilty of it are therefore branded with the name and fame of adulteresses. "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you." A truth to which all experience bears witness, and a most important one in teaching the doctrine of repentance. God not only tempers the wind to the shorn lamb, but he also makes the path easy to the returning sinner and meets him half-way. The prodigal arose and came to his father, but while he was yet a great way off the father saw him and ran to meet him. It is the first step in repentance which is the difficult one, and yet even this is not taken without Divine assistance. It is God who first supplies the impulse to draw nigh to him, and then himself comes to meet the sinner who yields to the impulse. His spirit stirs the sinner to cry to him, and then himself listens to the cry, according to the psalmist’s saying, "Thou preparest their heart, and thine ear hearkeneth thereto." "Humble yourselves in the sight of God, and he shall lift you up." "As a tree must strike root deep downwards that it may grow upwards, so a man’s spirit must be rooted in humility, or he is only lifted up to his own hurt". The sin of detraction. Observe how this differs from slander. Slander involves an imputation of falsehood. Detraction may be couched in truth and clothed in fair language. It is that tendency to disparage good actions, to look for blemishes and defects in them, using care and artifice to pervert or misrepresent things for that purpose. It is a poison often infused in sweet liquor and administered in a golden cup. On the nature and character of this sin, see a good sermon by Isaac Barrow (from which the above is taken), ’Works,’ vol. 2. sermon 19. By the addition of the word "brethren"—"Speak not evil of one another, brethren"—St. James enforces the precept by a strong argument; for brethren, who are members one of another, are bound to love each other, and should be the last to deny the merit or destroy the reputation of each other. The uncertainty of human plans and schemes. Best illustrated by the parable of the rich fool, boasting of his "much goods" laid up for "many years" on the very night on which his soul was required of him. It is such a spirit as his that St. James denounces so sternly; not the careful forethought and providence which Holy Scripture never condemns, but the forming plans and designs without the slightest reference in word or thought to that overruling will on which all depends. It is not the mere looking forward that is forbidden, but the looking forward without the recollection that while "man proposes, God disposes." The whole of human history forms a comment on these verses. Alexander seized with mortal illness just at the moment when the world is at his feet; Arius "taken away" the very night before he was to be forced into communion with the Church; the statesman struck down by the knife of the assassin just when his country seems to need him most;—all these show the truth of the words which St. James had probably read, and which may well be compared with his own: "Our life shall pass away as a cloud, and shall be dispersed as a mist that is driven away with the beams of the sun, and overcome with the heat thereof" (Wis. 2:4). The vanity of human schemes is well shown by the old epitaph— "The earth goeth on the earth glistening with gold; The earth goeth from the earth not when it wold; The earth buildeth on the earth castles and towers;" But— "The earth saith to the earth, ’These shall be ours.’" The greatness of sins of omission. It is not only sinful to do wrong; it is also sinful to lose an opportunity of doing good. God means us not only to be harmless, but also to be useful; not only to be innocent, but to be followers of that which is good. How miserable is the satisfied acquiescence in the thought, "I never did anybody any harm"—a thought which is falsely used as a consolation at many a death-bed! The slothful servant who hid the talent in a napkin did no wrong with it, but nevertheless he was condemned. He had failed to do good. So God claims from all of us, not merely that we should "cease to do evil," but also that we should "learn to do well;" for "to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." BY C. JERDAN James 4:1-3 Wars and fightings. Gazing upon the fair portraiture of the heavenly wisdom with which James 3:1-18. closes, we perhaps feel as if we could make tabernacles for ourselves in its peaceful presence, that we might continue always to contemplate its beauty. Immediately, however, James brings us down again from the holy mount into the quarrelsome and murderous world. He points us to the "wars" and "fightings" that rage throughout the human family. He returns to the "bitter jealousy and faction" that eat like a gangrene into the heart of the Christian Church. For the congregations which the apostles themselves formed were tainted with the same impurities which cling to the Church in our own time. I. THE OF STRIFE AMONG . (Verse 1) In the believing communities of" the Dispersion" there were many elements of discord. The time was one of political agitation and of social turbulence. Within the Churches there were sometimes bitter theological disputes (James 3:1-18). And in private life these Jewish Christians were largely giving themselves up to the besetting sin, not only of Hebrew nature, but of human nature; they struggled for material self-aggrandizement, and in doing so fell into violent mutual conflict. But do not quarrels and controversies of the same kind rage still? Christian nations go to war with one another. Employers and workmen array themselves against each other in hostile camps. Churches cherish within their bosoms the viper of sectarianism. Fellow-believers belonging to the same congregation cease to be on speaking terms with one another, and perhaps indulge in mutual backbiting. How sad to contemplate the long "wars" waged in hearts which should love as brethren, and to witness those outward "fightings" which are their inevitable outcome! II. THE ORIGIN OF STRIFE. (Verses 1, 2) "Whence" comes it? asks James; and he appeals in his answer to the consciences of his readers. The source of strife is in the evil desires of the heart. Usually, it is true, all wars and fightings are traced no further than to some outward cause. One nation attacks another professedly to maintain the country’s honor, or perhaps to rectify an unscientific frontier. Trade strikes and locks-out are to be explained by an unsatisfactory condition of the labor market. Ecclesiastical contentions are all alike justified by some assumed necessity in the interests of truth, and sometimes also by a misinterpretation of the words, "first pure, then peaceable" (James 3:17). And the personal quarrels that break out among individual Christians are sure to be ascribed to severe and gratuitous provocation. But here, true to his character as the apostle of reality, James sweeps away these excuses as so many dusty cobwebs. He drags out into the blaze of gospel light the one true origin of strife. "Wars" and "fightings" have their fountain within the soul, and not without. They come "of your pleasures," i.e. of the cravings of your carnal hearts. it is royal pride, or the lust of power, or sometimes the mischievous impatience of an idle army, that "lets slip the dogs of war" between nations. It is avarice and envy that foment the social strife between capital and labor. It is the spirit of Diotrephes that produces the evils of sectarianism. It is the wild and selfish passions of the natural heart that stir up the animosities and conflicts of private life. These passions "war in your members;" issuing from the citadel of "Mansoul," they pitch their camp in the organs of sense and action. There they not only "war against’ the regenerated nature (1 Peter 2:11), and against one another, but against one’s neighbor,—clamouring for gratification at the expense of his rights and his welfare. This truth is further expanded in verse 2, and in a way which recalls James 1:14, James 1:15; or which suggests the analysis of sin given by Thomas a Kempis: "Primo occurrit menti simplex cogitatio; deinde fortis imaginatio; postea delectatio et motus pravus et assensio." The first stage is that of unreasonably desiring something which we have not. The second is that of murderously envying those whose possessions we covet—cherishing such feelings as David did towards Uriah the Hittite, or Ahab towards Naboth. The third stage is that of open contention and discord—"ye fight and war." But common to all the stages is the consciousness of want; and at the end of each, as James 1:2 reminds us, this consciousness becomes further intensified. Ye "have not;" "cannot obtain;" "ye have not,"—even after all your fierce strivings. The war-spirit, therefore, is generated by that unrest of the soul which only the God of peace can remove. It has its source in that devouring hunger of the heart which only the bread of God can appease. And to cure it we must ascertain what the great nature of man needs, in order to make him restful and happy. III. THE REMEDY FOR STRIFE. (James 1:2, James 1:3) It lies in prayer. If we would have our nature restored to restfulness, we must realize our dependence upon God. To struggle after the world in our own strength will tend only to foster the war-spirit within us. Perhaps we have not hitherto directly consulted the Lord about our worldly affairs. If not, let us begin to do so now. Or perhaps we have "asked amiss," in praying chiefly for what would gratify only the lower elements of our nature, or requesting blessings with a view to certain uses of them which would not bear to be mentioned before his throne. We cannot e.g. expect God to answer the prayer that our worldly business may prosper, if we secretly resolve to employ what success he sends in catering for self glorification. The things that we ask must be what we need for the Lord’s service; and we must honestly purpose so to use them. The cultivation of the true spirit of devotion is the way to contentment with our lot in life. We shall secure peace among the powers and passions of the heart, if we "seek first our Father’s kingdom and his righteousness." Regular soul-converse with God will exorcise the demons of discord, and call into exercise the gracious affections of faith, submission, gratitude, and peace. LESSONS. 1. The wickedness of the war-spirit. 2. The defilement and degradation which result from allowing selfish motives to govern the heart. 3. The blessedness of making God our Portion, and of resting contented with our allotted share of temporal good. 4. The duty of forgiving our enemies, and of promoting peace in the Church and in society.—C.J. James 4:4-6 Worldliness enmity with God. Here the apostle follows up the words of rebuke and warning with which the chapter opened. The doctrine which he enunciates is uncompromising; and his language startling, as welt as solemn. I. THE BETWEEN THE LOVE OF THE WORLD AND THE LOVE OF GOD. (James 4:4) This painful epithet, "Ye adulteresses," is the key-note of the chord which James strikes in his appeal. God is the rightful spiritual Husband of every professing Christian; and thus, if such a one embraces the world, he or she resembles a woman who turns away from her lawful husband to follow other lovers. The world is an evil world, alien in its principles and pursuits from the will and glory of God; and therefore "the friendship of the world" is incompatible with the love of him. But what precisely is this "friendship"? It does not lie (1) in habits of friendly intercourse with worldly men; or (2) in the diligent pursuit of one’s daily occupation; or (3) in an appreciation of creature comforts and innocent pleasures. Worldliness does not depend upon outward acts or habits. It is a state of the heart. The word denotes the spirit and guiding disposition of the unbeliever’s life—the will to "be a friend of the world." Since, accordingly, this friendship represents direct opposition to the Divine will, every man who seeks it first and most declares himself by that very act "an enemy of God." II. OF THIS TRUTH. (Verses 5, 6) We accept as accurate the Greek reading of verse 5 which has been adopted by the Revisers, together with their translation: "Or think ye that the Scripture speaketh in vain? Doth the Spirit which he made to dwell in us long unto envying?" The apostle, accordingly, confirms his representation regarding the antagonism between the love of the world and the love of God by: 1. The tenor of Scripture teaching. The sacred writers with one consent take up an attitude of protest against worldliness. They uniformly assume that "the friendship of the world is enmity with God." They urge the duty of moderation in one’s desires, and of contentment with the allotments of Providence. The worldly disposition, which shows itself in covetousness and envy and strife, is opposed both to the letter and the spirit of Holy Scripture. And the moral teaching of God’s Word on this subject is not "in vain." The Bible means what it says. In all its utterances it is solemnly earnest. 2. The consciousness of the renewed heart. "Doth the Spirit [i.e. the Holy Spirit] which he made to dwell in us long unto envying?" If the Holy Ghost, speaking in the written Word, condemns the spirit of envy, he does so also in the law which he writes upon the hearts of Christ’s people. Some of those to whom this Epistle was addressed had "bitter jealousy and faction in their hearts" (James 3:14): it was seen in their worldly "wars" and "fightings." But the apostle appeals to their consciences to confess whether such a state of mind was not due to their walking "after the flesh’ instead of "after the Spirit." They knew well that the power of the Holy Ghost within their souls, in so tar as they yielded themselves to it, produced always very different fruit from that of envy and strife (Galatians 5:19-23; James 3:14-18). 3. The substance of the Divine promises. (Verse 6) "Grace" is the name for the influence which the Holy Spirit exerts upon the heart in order to its regeneration and sanctification. And how does grace operate, but just by killing the love of the world within the soul, and breathing into it the love of God? He, by his Spirit, gives to his believing people "more grace," i.e. supplies of grace greater in force and volume than the strength of their depravity, or the temptations against which they have to contend. Not only so, but those who employ well the grace which they already possess, shall receive more in ever-increasing measure (Matthew 25:29). And "the humble," who realize must deeply that they do not deserve any grace at all, are those upon whom God has always bestowed the most copious supplies. The further we depart from pride, which is the fruitful mother of envy and strife, the more freely and abundantly shall we receive that supernatural energy which will drive the love of the world out of our hearts (Proverbs 3:34). . Let us impress upon our minds the intensity with which God abhors pride. All history echoes the truth that "he setteth himself in array against the proud." Take the case of Pharaoh, of Nebuchadnezzar, of Haman, of Wolsey, of Napoleon. For ourselves, therefore, let us "fling away ambition" in every form. Especially let us crucify spiritual pride. "Many laboring men have got good estates in the Valley of Humiliation;" and if we go there "in the summer-time" of prosperity we shall learn the song of the shepherd boy— "He that is down needs fear no fall; He that is low no pride; He that is humble ever shall Have God to be his Guide." (Bunyan) —C.J. Submission to God. This passage is a powerful and heart-stirring appeal to those professing Christians whose hearts had been lull of worldly "pleasures" (James 4:3), and whose hands had been occupied with "wars" and "fightings." Within these four verses there are no fewer than ten verbs in the imperative mood; but the cardinal precept of the whole paragraph is the exhortation to submission, with which it both opens and closes. The other counsels in James 4:7-9 have reference to elements of conduct which are included in subjection to the Divine will. I. THE DUTY OF TO GOD. (James 4:7, James 4:10) The immediate connection of "therefore" in James 4:7 is with the quotation at the close of Jas 4:6. "God sets himself in array against the proud; therefore, be subject unto God." You must either willingly humble yourselves, or be precipitately humbled by Divine Providence. "God giveth grace to the humble; therefore, be subject unto God." Clothe yourselves with humility, that you may enjoy this "grace." "Be subject" to the Captain of your salvation, as a good soldier is to his commander. Subjection to God includes: 1. Acquiescence in his plan of salvation. These Christian Jews of the Dispersion were to’ avoid the sin of the Hebrew nation generally, in "not subjecting themselves to the righteousness of God" (Romans 10:3). And we "sinners of the Gentiles" must throw away that pride of self-righteousness which tempts us also to reject a method of redemption from which all boasting is excluded. We must make the blood of Jesus our only plea, and surrender our hearts to the gracious operations of the Holy Spirit. 2. Obedience to his law. If we submit ourselves to the righteousness of God in the gospel, we shall begin to reverence and admire and obey the moral law. We shall be willing that God should reign over us and rule within us. We shall allow him to control us in body and mind, in intellect and conscience, in heart and will, in act and habit. We shall forsake our sins. We shall long and labor to be holy. 3. Acceptance of his dealings in providence. We are to be contented with the lot in life which God has assigned to us. We are to be willing to receive evil as well as good at his hand. We must bear affliction patiently, not because it is useless to murmur, but because it is wrong to do so. In our times of sorrow we must not challenge God’s sovereignty, or impugn his justice, or arraign his wisdom, or distrust his love. The spirit of Christian submission says, "Let us also rejoice in our tribulations" (Romans 5:3). II. OF WHICH ENTER INTO THIS . These are set forth in the body of the passage (James 4:7-9). 1. We must resist Satan. (James 4:7) To "be subject unto God" necessarily involves resistance to God’s great enemy. Human nature has in it the element of combativeness; and the greater any man’s force of character, he is likely to be the more thorough a hater. But the Christian should not "fight and war" with his fellow-believers; his quarrel is to be with Satan, and with Satan’s works. We are to "resist" the devil; we must not dispute or parley with him. We must not "give place" to him (Ephesians 4:27) by cherishing covetousness or envy; for, if we allow him any place at all, he may speedily take possession of the entire area of the heart. If, on the contrary, we "stand up against" Satan, "he will flee" from us. The power of the truth, the power of faith, the power of prayer, will silence his artillery. There is no giant temptation which may not be overcome with some small stone out of the brook of Holy Scripture, if we hurl it from the sling of faith, and with an arm guided by the Holy Spirit. 2. We must come near to God. (James 4:8) The design of all Satan’s assaults is to prevent us from doing so; and the best way in which to "resist" him is resolutely to "draw nigh." What a blessed privilege to us sinners to be allowed to approach to the holy, just, and merciful Jehovah! He has opened for us a new and living way of access by the blood of Jesus. We draw near (1) when we pray, for prayer is just the converse of the soul with God; (2) when our deepest soul-longings go out towards him, who alone can be our Portion; and (3) when, along with our supplications and our heart-yearnings, we live a pure and godly life. Nor shall any man who truly seeks God seek him in vain. God will be propitious to him, and visit him, and take up his abode with him. 3. We must put away our sins. (James 4:8, James 4:9) For we cannot really "draw nigh" to God if we persist in hugging them. The act of coming near involves repentance; it carries with it resolutions and endeavors after amendment. We must "cleanse our hands" from the open sins of which our neighbors may be cognizant, and "purify our hearts" from those secret faults which are known only to God. Self-loathing should possess us when we realize our covetousness and double-mindedness, our divided affections and unstable spiritual purposes. Our repentance must be such as to involve us in misery; and we must cry out to God for pardon. Does any one object that we have in this a somewhat gloomy picture of the religious life? The answer is, that such is only a representation of it upon one side. Here we see the shadows of the life of grace; but its shadows are only the reflection of its joys. It is a blessed mourning of which the text speaks; and they that mourn thus "shall be comforted." Godly repentance is the true humility; and it conducts to the highest exaltation. "He shall exalt you" (James 4:10), giving you always "more grace" in this life, and a rich reversion of glory in the life to come.—C.J. Evil-speaking and evil-judging Here James still continues his warning against the spirit of selfishness and worldliness. In these two verses he issues a solemn interdict against the habit of calumny and unjust censure of brethren. For evil-speaking is one of the most familiar manifestations of that spirit of strife which he has already rebuked. I. THE . (Verse 11) 1. Fundamentally it is directed against evil-judging. The apostle’s words are to be interpreted according to their spirit. He does not condemn all judging. God has implanted within us the critical faculty, the judgment; and we cannot avoid using it. Indeed, it is a Christian duty to pronounce upon conduct and character. We require to do so within our own breasts for our own moral guidance; while to judge publicly is a function of the civil magistrate and of Church rulers. What James condemns here is evil-judging—all judging that is censorious or calumnious. We are not to judge rashly, harshly, uncharitably. Even good Christians are tempted to transgress in this matter in many ways: e.g. from listening to mere rumor, from trusting to our own first impressions, from narrow-mindedness, from self-conceit, from mistaken views of the sufferings of others, from forgetting that we cannot look into our neighbors’ hearts. In forming our judgments of conduct and character we should have regard to such principles as these: (1) We have no right to come to an unfavorable conclusion unless we possess full knowledge of all the facts. (2) We ought to guard against undue severity of judgment. (3) We must not allow bad motives to warp our decisions. (4) When acts are capable either of a favorable or an unfavorable construction, we are bound in charity to take the favorable view. 2. But the prohibition refers also to the expression of our judgments. It forbids evil speaking. The vilest form of this sin consists in the willful creation of false reports against brethren. To originate such is literally diabolical. True Christians may seldom fall into this lowest and guiltiest form of calumny; but how readily do some of us yield ourselves to the circulation of slanders which have been poured into our ears! How frequently do we "take up a reproach against our neighbor" (Psalms 15:3)! We find it lying in our way, and we pick it up and pass it on, whereas we ought to allow it to remain where it is. Alas! even in Christian circles a small and slight rumor will sometimes expand speedily into a huge inflated calumny, which will scatter mischief and misery along its path. And even mere idle speaking degenerates into evil-speaking. Gossip soon becomes backbiting; scandal grows out of tittle-tattle. It is so much easier to talk of persons than of principles, that our dinner and tea parties, instead of being occupied with profitable subjects of conversation, are sometimes largely given over to the retail of scandal. We should ever bear in mind such principles as the following for our guidance in the expression of our judgments concerning others: (1) The end of speech is to bless and serve God, while evil-speaking is work done for Satan. (2) We should direct attention to the excellences rather than to the defects of our neighbor’s character. (3) When we require in private life to use the language of condemnation, we ought to condemn principles rather than persons. (4) We should tell his fault to the erring brother himself rather than to others. II. THE GROUNDS OF THE . One strong argument is introduced incidentally, in the use of the words "brethren" and "brother." Depreciatory and calumnious language towards one another is subversive of the whole idea of brotherhood. It is inconsistent with the recognition of the common brotherhood of the race, and tenfold more so in relation to the special spiritual brotherhood of believers. The apostle, however, submits expressly two grounds for his condemnation. To judge and speak evil is: 1. To condemn the Divine Law. (Verse 11) "The law" refers to the moral code which was given by Moses, and fulfilled and made honorable by Jesus Christ. It is the same which James has spoken of in James 1:1-27. as "the law of liberty." Of this law the second great commandment is, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself"—a precept which embraces within it the "judge not" of the Lord Jesus (Matthew 7:1). But the man who speaks evil of his brother virtually condemns the New Testament ethics as unsound, and pronounces the moral law to be unworthy of obedience. 2. To usurp the functions of the Divine Judge. (James 1:11, James 1:12) Our proper place and work as Christians is that of humble submission to the authority of the law. If, however, we speak evil regarding our fellows, we in so doing withdraw altogether from the attitude of subjection. In "judging our brother" we climb up to the judicial bench; we usurp the seat of him who administers the law, and who is not himself under it. But how frightful the impiety that is involved in such usurpation! "One only is the Lawgiver and Judge;" he alone pronounces infallible judgments, and possesses power to execute them. His sentences are spoken for doom; yet he loves to "save," and it gives him" no pleasure" to "destroy." 1. The presumptuousness of evil-judging. "Who art thou that judgest thy neighbor?" Man lacks the requisite knowledge and wisdom and purity. 2. The duty of cultivating love of the brethren. 3. The importance of copying in our lives the perfect character of the godly man, as mirrored in Psalms 15:4. The reasonableness of fearing God, as the one true and final Judge.—C.J. "Man proposes, but God disposes." The subject here is another prevalent manifestation of pride and worldliness; namely, the propensity to indulge in presumptuous self-reliance in relation to the future. I. THE SPIRIT OF VAIN WHICH THE APOSTLE REBUKES. (James 4:13) He appeals directly to worldly-minded merchants and money-makers. The Jews, like ourselves, have been a nation of shopkeepers. In these early times many of them carried the products of one country to the commercial centers of another. The same trader might be found one year at Antioch, the next at Alexandria, the following year at Damascus, and the fourth perhaps at Corinth. Now, the apostle solemnly rebukes those who formed their business plans without taking into account the providence of God, or even the uncertainty of human life. He is very far from stigmatizing commercial enterprise as a form of worldliness. He does not censure the formation of business schemes even for long years to come, provided such be contemplated in subordination to the Divine will, and be not allowed to interfere with spiritual consecration to his service. What he condemns is the spirit of self-sufficiency in regard to the continuance of life and activity and success (Psalms 49:11; Isaiah 56:12; Luke 12:19). He rebukes the practical atheism which would shut out God from business arrangements. And his "Go to now" is quite as much needed among us Gentiles of the nineteenth century as it was among the Jews of the first. In presence of the innumerable business interests of our time, and amidst the wasting anxieties of competition, how prone men are to ignore the eternal laws, and exclude from their calculations the sovereign will of the great Disposer! How apt busy men are to act as if they were the lords of their own lives! When we allow the spirit of worldliness to steal over our souls like a creeping paralysis, then we begin to "boast ourselves of tomorrow." II. THE GROUNDS OF THE REBUKE. (James 4:14-17) The apostle reminds his readers that this confident expectation of a successful future betrays: 1. A foolish and irrational spirit. (James 4:14) Although man is endowed with reason, he often neglects to use his reason. These merchant Jews of "the Dispersion" knew thoroughly well the brevity arid frailty of human life, but were in danger of allowing their proud thoughts to efface from their consciousness so commonplace a truth. They forgot that we" know net what shall be on the morrow." In the political world "the unexpected generally happens." In the commercial world what startling surprises occur!—poor men raised to affluence, and rich men reduced to sudden poverty. And the duration of our lives is as uncertain as any other event. "For," asks James, "what is your life?" What is it like? What is its most prominent outward characteristic? "Ye are a vapor;" human life is like the morning mists that mantle the mountain. It spreads itself out, indeed, as vapor does; for it is manifold in its schemes and cares and toils; but, like vapor, it is flail and transient. We know this to be true, but how little do we realize it! We form plans about our business and family affairs, plans about our houses and fields, plans to improve our social status; and we forget that all these are dependent upon an unknown quantity—our continuance in life and health, our possession of the future, and of property in it. Now, in all this, do not we act quite irrationally? How can our calculations be correct, when we leave out the factor of the frailty of life? This thought should be uppermost in our minds. It is the part of a wise man often to reflect that he will soon be in eternity. Again, this vain confidence reveals: 2. An impious and wicked spirit. (Verses 15-17) It is impious to forget to carry the will of the supreme Disposer into all our calculations, and to neglect to qualify our plans by a reference to that will. It is wicked for a finite and sinful man to cherish the proud confidence that he may map out the future of his life at his own pleasure. To act as if the keys of time were in one’s own keeping, and as if one could ensure life and health, like papers locked up in a fire-resisting safe, involves an arrogance which has in it the essence of all sin. "All such glorying is evil;" for it originates in pride, which is the fountain-head of sin. It is the spirit which makes an idol of self, and which would practically thrust out God from his own world. The apostle concludes with a general moral statement on the subject of the relation between knowledge and responsibility. Our guilt will be the greater if we do not practice what we clearly know (verse 17). But every professing Christian knows perfectly well the uncertainty of life. How aggravated, then, is our sin, when we "boast ourselves of tomorrow!" III. THE DUTY OF OUR ON THE LORD’S WILL. (Verse 15) We should always remember that our times are in the hands of the Lord Jesus, and be ready upon every fitting occasion to acknowledge it, not only with submission, but with confidence and joy. Some good men habitually say or write "D.V.," while others equally in their hearts recognize the Lord’s will, although they do not often refer to it after such fashion. The great matter is for every one really to permeate his business life with religion, and to live up to the measure of his spiritual knowledge. Thomas Fuller’s remarks on this subject are excellent in spirit: "Lord, when in any writing I have occasion to insert these passages, ’God willing,’ ’God lending me life,’ etc., I observe, Lord, that I can scarce hold my hand from encircling these words in a parenthesis, as if they were not essential to the sentence, but may as well be left out as put in. Whereas, indeed, they are not only of the commission at large, but so of the quorum, that without them all the rest is nothing; wherefore hereafter I will write those words fully and fairly, without any enclosure about them. Let critics censure it for bad grammar, I am sure it is good divinity" (’Good Thoughts in Bad Times’).—C.J. BY T.F. LOCKYER James 4:1-10 War or peace? He has just been speaking of peace. But this leads him to survey the actual state of things: disputes, strifes, murders. (For condition of Jewish society at this time, see Plumptre’s notes: "rife with atrocities.") And he will ascend to the origin of them. Whence come they? They proceed from the restlessness of the unregenerate nature, seeking, but seeking in vain, its satisfaction in the world. These two topics, then, are introduced to us: dissatisfaction with the world; satisfaction in God. I. WITH THE WORLD. Man’s nature consists of higher and lower, spiritual and psychical, the one designed by God to govern and regulate the other. But without such governance the desires of the lower life are riotous and rampant, and the members of the ungoverned man are the battle-ground for base cravings. And from the man himself the battle is projected into the world. 1. But what is the result of this unbridled craving for the world? A nature that is never satisfied. (1) Baffled desires and efforts towards the world. Ever more and more inflamed, for there is a certain infiniteness in man’s cravings; ever more and more disappointed, for there is a palling finiteness in the world towards which man’s infinite cravings go forth. (2) The non-existence of desires towards God, who alone can satisfy. "Ye ask not" (James 4:2); or, "Ye ask amiss;" not sincerely for God’s blessing itself, but merely for the selfish gratification of worldly desires (James 4:3). 2. And what the guilt of this condition? The guilt of absolute ungodliness! (1) The world-desires themselves, unbridled and lawless as they are, are evidence of divorce from God (James 4:4). (2) The spirit of envy which they provoke is absolutely opposed to God (James 4:5). Yes, it is from below. II. IN GOD. But, it may be said, we are naturally so prone to sin; we covet, we envy, as being to the manner born. Yes, truly; and only God’s grace can suffice. But God’s grace can suffice, and it is abundantly given (James 4:6). 1. Let us notice the terms upon which this grace is given. (1) Towards God: humility (James 4:10), and submission (James 4:7). (2) Towards the tempter: resistance (James 4:7). (3) Towards sin: repentance (a) of the will—cleansing the hands and purifying the heart (James 4:8); (b) of the feelings (James 4:9). (4) Towards God, again: drawing nigh, as to a Refuge (James 4:8). 2. And the results of this craving after God? (1) God’s nearness to man (James 4:8; so John 1:51; John 17:22, John 17:23). (2) Man’s exaltation to God (James 4:10). So, virtually, in the ascension of Christ; so actually by-and-by (John 14:3). The same old war in the members, from the beginning until now. It must be put down by a more righteous war. A war which demands all the abounding grace of God. Let us learn, then, sternness towards sin; strong trust towards God. And so he will give the victory.—T.F.L. Judgment, human and Divine. The besetting sin of the Jews; the besetting sin of man: evil-speaking. But to speak evil, is to judge; and who are we, that we should judge? One is the Judge, even God. I. THE OF MAN. In some cases, where great public ends are to be served, man seems to be justified in exercising a power of delegated judgment; so the magistrate, the minister, the historian. But even here the power is qualified; the judgment of motives is not absolute. The besetting sin, however, is to judge of motives where only the act is known; and, which generally accompanies the former, to conjecture the act where little is definitely known. So in the world; so, alas, in the Church! But why is this judgment, why is this evil-speaking, wrong? There is a law against which it sins—the law of love. Indicated in "the Law" (Galatians 6:2); also in the word "brother." Yes, a law which has said, "Judge not" (see Matthew 7:1). But such judgment has a more uniquely evil relation to law than this. 1. False relation to law: "Speaketh against the law, judgeth the law." What a subtle hypocrisy is this! When we think we are championing the law by our censorious speaking, we are in reality blaming it, condemning it; for we are virtually denying its right to teach us charity! So do we sit in judgment, forsooth, on the law itself. 2. True relation to law. "A doer." By charity, we recognize the validity and rectitude of the great law of charity, and ourselves obey its precepts. This law, let us remember, is impersonated in Christ. If, then, we do not bow to its sway, we do not receive Christ; and, not receiving Christ, we have no salvation. II. THE OF GOD. The great principle is here stated that, ultimately and absolutely, there is one Lawgiver, one Judge. 1. The legislative authority of God: rooted in his very nature, as God. And the special law of love rooted in this, that "God is love." 2. The judicial authority of God. He discerns infallibly the sin of the creature. (1) As being himself perfectly good: an essential requisite. The mirror and the breath. So that infinite holiness! (2) As being the One to whom all sin is adversely related. Whatever its exact bearings directly, it is essentially hostile to God. And as in him we live and move and have our being, its hostility is immediately known by God. 3. The executive authority of God. "Able to save, and to destroy." (1) To save: taking into blessed fellowship with himself, as having affinity. (2) To destroy: casting off from himself, as being alien (see 2 Thessalonians 1:9). Be there is nothing arbitrary in the judgment of God, from first to last. The legislative, the judicial, the executive functions are all rooted in his nature, and in the essential relation of that nature to us. "Who," then, "art thou that judgest thy neighbor?" Actually judging, not thy neighbor, but the law; nay, not the law, but the great God from whom all law springs, and to whom it all returns! May God save us from this!—T.F.L. "What is your life?" The life of the savage is characterized by an almost total lack of true foresight; no calculations of the future. True civilization, on the contrary, is largely built up on the principle of far-seeing prudence. Yet there may be a false use of a true principle. And so it may come to pass that we manifest an unchristian reliance on the future, and an absorbed engrossment in plans for its direction. It is this which James condemns, He sets forth the false glorying, and, over against the false, the true. I. THE FALSE . 1. A false love of the world. "Trade, and get gain." So the parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:16-21). And the essence of such sinful worldliness is this: "Layeth up treasure for himself." But the gains on which men’s hearts are set may be other than these material ones: position, power, fame, intellectual achievements. It matters not what they are, if they be sought covetously and selfishly, they come under the condemnation era false love of the world. 2. A false view of life. "Spend a year there." So the parable, as above. Really? (1) The transiency of life in itself. "A vapor." As compared with the ages of history. How that dwindles our little day! As compared with the life of God (Psalms 90:4; Psalms 39:5). (2) The permanence of its spiritual results: left for inference, how immensely important every moment now! So Psalms 90:12; Psalms 39:13. The glorying is evil, then, whether of speech or of heart. For the principle is not one of words. A man may talk piously of the brevity of life and of the will of God, while really his heart is as essentially worldly as that of the man who makes no pretensions to better things. II. THE TRUE . So also the contrasted glorying, "If the Lord will," etc., is not one of words—" D.V.," and the like. Use of words not unimportant as regards practical results; but it is really the attitude of the heart which God regards, and which constitutes us what we are. So, then, "he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 1:31). 1. A trite view of life. "If the Lord will, we shall live." (1) His governance of human vicissitudes: "The Lord reigneth." Fate, chance, human willfulness—all governed by his will. (2) His regard for human destiny: educating us. That mighty future, shall we be made ready for it? Yes; for "he that spared not," etc. (Romans 8:32). 2. A true love of the world. "Do this or that." A living will runs through all these things, and it is given to us to blend our wills with it, and so help to work out God’s design. "If on our daily course our mind Be set to hallow all we find—" that is the secret of a true, a godly love of the world. We have knowledge of these things, for we have "tasted the powers of the world to come" (Hebrews 6:5). Therefore, what shall be our sin, if still our glorying is in the world (see John 9:41)? Oh, to us, as from heaven, the warning comes: "Ye Christians, arouse yourselves, and live for heaven and God!"—T.F.L. James 5:1-6 OF THE RICH FOR (1) DOWN THE POOR AND KEEPING BACK THEIR WAGES; (2) LUXURY; (3) MURDER. The whole section resembles nothing so much as an utterance of one of the old Jewish prophets. It might almost be a leaf torn out of the Old Testament. James 5:1 Go to now (see on James 4:13). The Vulgate there has ecce; here, agite. Ye rich men (see on James 2:6). Weep and howl, etc.; cf. James 4:9, but note the difference of tone; there, more of exhortation; here, more of denunciation. Ὀλολύζοντες: only here in the New Testament, but several times in the LXX., in passages of which the one before us reminds us; e.g. Isaiah 10:10; Isaiah 13:6; Isaiah 14:31; Isaiah 15:2; Isaiah 23:1-18. 1, 6, 14. Miseries. Ταλαιπωρίαις: only again in Romans 3:16 (equivalent to Isaiah 59:7); frequent in the LXX. James 5:2 Description of the miseries that are coming upon them. The perfects (σέσηπε … γέγονεν) are probably to be explained as "prophetic," in accordance with a common Hebrew idiom. For an instance of the prophetic perfect, used as here after ὀλούζείν, see Isaiah 23:1, Isaiah 23:14," Howl … for your stronghold has been wasted." The miseries coming upon the rich are thus announced to be the destruction of everything in virtue of which they were styled rich. Their costly garments, in a great store of which the wealth of an Eastern largely consists, should become moth-eaten. Their gold and silver should be rusted. Bengel notes on this passage: "Scripta haec suut paucis annis ante obsidionem Hierosolymorum;" and certainly the best commentary upon it is to be found in the terrible account given by Josephus of the sufferings and miseries which came upon the Jews during the war and siege of Jerusalem. The Jewish historian has become the unconscious witness to the fulfillment of the prophecies of our Lord and his apostle. Σέσηπεν: only here in the New Testament; in the LXX., Job 16:7. Σητόβρωτα is also an ἄπαξλεγόμενον in the New Testament; in LXX. used also of garments in Job 13:28. James 5:3 With this and the preceding verse contrast our Lord’s words of treasure laid up in heaven, "where moth and rust do not corrupt" (Matthew 6:19). Cankered (κατίωται); better, rusted. Only here in the New Testament; never in the LXX. except Ecclesiasticus 12:11. The rust of them. Ἰός: used here for "rust" as in the LXX. in Ezekiel’s parable of the boiling pot (Ezekiel 24:6, etc)—a passage which (according to one interpretation) may have suggested the following clause, "and shall eat your flesh," etc. (see verses 9-12). Shall he a witness against you (εἰςμαρτύριονὑμῖν). The rendering of the A.V. is quite defensible, but it is equally possible to take the words as the R.V. margin," for a testimony unto you." "The rust of them," says Alford, "is a token of what shall happen to yourselves; in the consuming of your wealth you see depicted your own." Two interpretations of the latter part of the verse are possible, depending on the punctuation adopted. (1) As the A.V. and R.V., putting the stop after πῦρ: "Their rust … shall eat your flesh as fire. Ye have laid up your treasure in the last days." The "fire," if this rendering be adopted, may be explained from Ezekiel 24:9, etc. (2) Putting the stop after ὑμῶν and before ὡςπῦρ: "Their rust … shall eat your flesh. Ye have heaped up as it were fire in the last days." This has the support of the Syriac ("Ye have gathered fire for you for the last days"), and is adopted by Drs. Westcott and Herr. The "fire" will, of course, be the fire of judgment; and the expression, ὡςπῦρἐθησαυρίσατε, may easily have been suggested by Proverbs 16:27, Ἀνὴρἄφρωνὀρύσσειἑαυτῷκακάἐπὶδὲτῶνἑαυτοῦχειλέωνθησαυρίζειπῦρ. The whole form of expression also reminds us of St. Paul’s "treasurest up for thyself wrath in the day of wrath" (Romans 2:5), to which it is exactly parallel, the "wrath in the day of wrath" there answering to the "fire in the last days" here. (The rendering of the Vulgate is evidently influenced by this parallel, as it has thesaurizastis iram). For the last days; rather, in the last days (ἐνἐσχάταιςἡμέραις); cf. 2 Timothy 3:1. If the words are connected with πῦρ as suggested above, there is no difficulty in them. If the punctuation of the A.V. be retained, we must suppose that the writer is speaking from the point of view of the last day of all. "When the end came it found them heaping up treasures which they could never use" (Dean Scott). But the other view, though not so generally adopted, seems fat’ preferable. James 5:4 accounts for the miseries that are coming upon them. Their sins are the cause. The language is modeled upon the Old Testament, and the special sin denounced is one that is expressly forbidden in the Law (see Deuteronomy 24:14, Deuteronomy 24:15, "Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy. At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it: for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the Lord, and it be sin unto thee;" cf. Malachi 3:5, "I will be a swift witness … against those that oppress the hireling in his wages (LXX., ἐπὶτοὺςἀποστεροῦνταςμισθὸνμισθωτοῦ)" Later allusions to the same sin are found in Tobit 4:14; Ecclesiasticus 34:22. Which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth. For ἀπεστερημένος of the Received Text, read ἀφυστερημένος (à, B). It is possible to join the words ἀφὑμῶν with κράζει, but it is more natural to take them as the A.V. with ἀφυστερημένος. Reaped … reaped (ἀμησάντων … θερισάντων); R.V., "mowed … reaped." But it would seem that the words should have been reversed, as, judging by Old Testament usage, ἀμάω is always used of corn (Leviticus 25:11; Deuteronomy 24:19; Isaiah 17:5; Isaiah 37:30; Micah 6:15); while θερίζειν is the wider word, including all "harvesting," and used of χόρτος in Psalms 128:1-6. (127) 7; Jeremiah 9:22. Into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. These words are adopted from Isaiah 5:9, ΚύριοςΣαβαώθ, a Grecized form of the Hebrew תואבץ הוהי, frequent in the LXX. Found in the New Testament only here and Romans 9:29 (in a quotation); elsewhere, e.g. in the Apocalypse, it is represented by παντοκράτωρ (Revelation 1:8, etc); so also in 2 Corinthians 6:18 (equivalent to 2 Samuel 7:8). James 5:5 Further description of their sin. Ye have lived in pleasure (ἐτρυφήσατε, here only) on the earth, and been wanton (ἐσπαλατήσατε, only here and 1 Timothy 5:6); ye have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter. The ὡς of the Received Text ("as in a day," etc., A.V) is quite wrong; it is wanting in à, A, B, Latt., Memphitic. The clause seems to imply that they were like brute beasts, feeding securely on the very day of their slaughter. Vulgate (Clem), in die occisionis; but Codex Amiat., in diem occisionis. The actual expression, ἐνἡμέρᾳσφαγῆς, may have been suggested by Jeremiah 12:3, "Prepare them for the day of slaughter (LXX., εἰςἡμέρανσφαγῆςαὐτῶν)." James 5:6 The climax of their sin. Ye have condemned, ye have killed the righteous one. Does this allude to the death of our Lord? At first sight it may well seem so. Compare St. Peter’s words in Acts 3:14, "Ye denied the Holy One and the Just (δίκαιον);" St. Stephen’s in Acts 7:52, "the coming of the Just One (τοῦδικαίου);" and St. Paul’s in Acts 22:14, "to see the Just One (τὸνδίκαιον)." But this view is dispelled when we remember how throughout this whole passage the ideas and expressions are borrowed from the Old Testament, and when we find that in Isaiah 3:10 (LXX) the wicked are represented as saying, Δήσωμεντὸνδίκαιονὅτιδύσχρηστοςἡμῖνἐστί—a passage which lies at the root of the remarkable section in Wis. 2., "Let us oppress the poor righteous man … Let us condemn him with a shameful death." It is probable, then, that passages such as these were in St. James’s mind, and suggested the words, and thus that there is no direct allusion to the Crucifixion (which, indeed, could scarcely be laid to the charge of his readers), but that the singular τὸνδίκαιον is used to denote the class collectively (cf. Amos 2:6; Amos 5:12). It is a remarkable coincidence, pointed out by most commentators, that he who wrote these verses, himself styled ὁΔίκαιος by the Jews, suffered death at their hands a very few years afterwards. He doth not resist you. According to the view commonly adopted, St. James simply means to say that the righteous man suffered this evil at their hands without resistance. Another interpretation seems more possible, taking the clause as interrogative, "Does he not resist you?" the subject, implied but not expressed, being God; as if he would say, "Is not God against you? "—that God of whom it has already been said that he resists (ἀντιτάσσεται) the proud (comp. Hosea 1:6, "I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel, but I will utterly take them away (LXX., ἀλλἢἀντιτασσόμενοςἀντιτάξομαιαὐτοῖς)") James 5:7-20 (1) TO (James 5:7-11); (2) AGAINST (James 5:12); (3) TO CONDUCT IN HEALTH AND IN (James 5:13, etc). James 5:7-11 Exhortation to patience. James 5:7 Be patient therefore. In his concluding remarks St. James reverts to the point from which he started (comp. James 1:3, James 1:4). Μακροθυμεῖν is here given a wider meaning than that which generally attaches to it. As was pointed out in the notes on James 1:3, it ordinarily refers to patience in respect of persons. Here, however, it certainly includes endurance in respect of things, so that the husbandman is said μακροθυμεῖν where we should rather have expected ὑπομενεῖν (cf. Lightfoot on Colossians 1:11). Unto the coming of the Lord (ἕωςτῆςπαρουσίαςτοῦΚυρίου); Vulgate, usque ad adventure Domiai. The word παρουσία had been used by our Lord himself of his return to judge, in Matthew 24:3, Matthew 24:27, Matthew 24:37, Matthew 24:39. It is also found in St. Paul’s writings, only, however (in this sense), in Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 2:19; 1 Thessalonians 3:13; 1 Thessalonians 4:15; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; 2 Thessalonians 2:1, 2 Thessalonians 2:8) and 1 Corinthians 15:23. St. Peter uses it in his Second Epistle (1 Corinthians 1:16; 1 Corinthians 3:4, 1 Corinthians 3:12), as does St. John (1 John 2:28). Behold, the husbandman, etc. Consideration, exciting to patience, drawn from an example before the eyes of all. Until he receive; better, taking γή as the subject of the verb, until it receive. The early and the latter rain. Υετόν of the Received Text has the authority of A, K, L, and the Syriac Versions; à (with which agree the Coptic and Old Latin, if), καρπόν. B and the Vulgate omit the substantive altogether. In this they are followed by most critical editors (e.g. Lachmann, Tischendorf, Tregelles, Westcott and Hort), but not by the Revisers; and as the expression, πρώιμονκαὶὄψιμον, without the substantive, is never found in the LXX., it is safer to follow A and the Syriac in retaining ὑετόν here. (For "the early and the latter rain," comp. Deuteronomy 11:14; Jeremiah 5:24; Joe 2:23; Zechariah 10:1) "The first showers of autumn which revived the parched and thirsty soil and prepared it for the seed; and the later showers of spring which continued to refresh and forward both the ripening crops and the vernal products of the field" (Robinson, quoted in ’Dictionary of the Bible,’ 2:994). James 5:8 Application of illustration, repeating the exhortation of Jas 5:7, and supporting it by the assurance that "the coming of the Lord," till which they are to endure, "is at hand." Stablish your hearts. The coming of the Lord draweth nigh. So Isaiah had announced (Isaiah 13:6), "The day of the Lord is near (ἐγγὺςἡμέραΚυρίου)." James 5:9 Grudge not, brethren; better, with R.V., murmur not—a meaning which "grudge" had in the seventeenth century; cf. Psalms 59:15 (Prayer-book version), "They will run here and there for meat, and grudge if they be not satisfied." What is the connection of this verse with the preceding? "Murmuring" implies sitting in judgment upon others, which has been expressly forbidden by the Lord himself. It is also the opposite to that μακροθυμία to which St. James has been exhorting his readers. Lest ye be condemned; rather, that ye be not judged. Ἵναμὴκριθῆτε, as in Matthew 7:1. Κατακριθῆτε of the Received Text has absolutely no authority, nor has the omission of the article before κριτής in the following clause. Behold, the Judge, etc. The nearness of the judgment is expressed by saying that the Judge is actually standing "before the doors (πρὸτῶνθυρῶν)." So also our Lord, in his great discourse on the judgment, says (Matthew 24:33), "When ye see all these things, know that he is nigh, even at the doors (ἐγγύςἐστινἐπὶθύραις);" and comp. Revelation 3:20, where he says, "Behold, I stand at the door (ἕστηκαἐπὶτὴνθύραν), and knock." James 5:10 The injunction is further strengthened by an appeal to the example of the prophets of the old covenant, an "example of suffering and of patience." Read ἐντῶὀνόματι, with à, B, and observe the anarthrous Κυρίου (cf. on James 4:10). Suffering affliction. Τῆςκακοπαθείας.: here only in the LXX., Malachi 1:13; 2 Macc. 2:26. James 5:11 Behold, we count them happy. Μακαρίζειν: only here and Luke 1:48 (comp. James 1:12, "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation;" Daniel 12:12, "Blessed is he that waiteth"). Which endure; rather, which endured, reading ὑπομείναντας, with à, A, B, Syriac, Latt. (quisustinuerunt). Ye have heard of the patience of Job. A book very rarely referred to in the New Testament; only here and in 1 Corinthians 3:19, where Job 5:13 is quoted. And have seen the end of the Lord. Ἴδετε ("see") is found in A, B, L, but εἴδετε of the Received Text has the support of à, B, K, Vulgate (ridistis), and is now generally adopted. The "end of the Lord (τὸτέλοςΚυρίου)" cannot possibly be interpreted of the death and resurrection of our Savior. The whole context is against this, and Κυρίου would certainly require the article. The Syriac Version rightly interprets the clause, "the end which the Lord wrought for him." It dearly refers to the end which God brought about in the case of Job, whose "latter end the Lord blessed more than his beginning". That the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy, Πολύσπλαχνος: here only; never in the LXX, but equivalent to Hebrew דסֶחֶ ברַ; cf. Psalms 103:8, (102); Psalms 111:4, (110), which may have suggested the phrase to St. James. Οἰκτίρμων: only here and Luke 6:36; several times in the LXX. ὉΚύριος is omitted entirely in K, L, and some manuscripts of the Vulgate; the article is also wanting in B. James 5:12 Exhortation against swearing, founded on our Lord’s teaching in the sermon on the mount, Matthew 5:33-37—a passage which was evidently present to St. James’s thoughts. He, like his Master, "lays down rules and maxims and principles without specifying the limitations and exceptions." The sermon on the mount, as interpreted by our Lord’s own actions, is a clear witness that this formed Ms method of teaching. If, then, his words do not touch the case of oaths solemnly tendered to men in a court of justice (and his own acceptance of an adjuration on his trial shows that they do not), no more do St. James’s. Both our Lord and his apostle had probably in view "only those profane adjurations with which men who have no deep-seated fear of God garnish their common talk". The special oaths mentioned were those in vogue among the Jews, and just the very ones which our Lord himself had specified. On the need of such teaching as this, see Thomson’s ’Land and the Book,’ p. 190: "This people are fearfully profane. Everybody curses and swears when in a passion. No people that I have ever known can compare with these Orientals for profaneness in the use of the names and attributes of God. The evil habit seems inveterate and universal. When Peter, therefore, ’began to curse and to swear’ on that dismal night of temptation, we are not to suppose that it was something foreign to his former habits. He merely relapsed, under high excitement, into what, as a sailor and a fisherman, he had been accustomed to all his life. The people now use the very same sort of oaths that are mentioned and condemned by our Lord. They swear by the head, by their life, by heaven, by the temple, or what is in its place, the church. The forms of cursing and swearing, however, are almost infinite, and fall on the pained ear all day long." So, too, Aben Ezra speaks of the practice of swearing as almost universal in his day, so that he says, "men swear daily countless times, and then swear that they have not sworn!" With regard to the translation of the verse, two renderings are possible: (1) that of the A.V. and of the R.V. (text), "Let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay." (2) That of the R.V. margin, "Let yours be the yea, yea, and the nay, nay;" viz. those enjoined by our Lord (Matthew 5:37), "Let your communication be Yea, yea; Nay, nay; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil." On behalf of this latter rendering, may be pleaded (a) the clearness of the reference to our Lord’s teaching; and (b) the fact that this is the interpretation given to the clause in the two leading versions of antiquity, the Syriac and the Vulgate, both of which have exactly the same words here and in St. Matthew. Vulgate, Sit autem sermo vester est est, non non. Lest ye fall into condemnation. Happily the A.V. here follows the text of the Elzevirs, ὑπὸκρίσιν (à, A, B, Latt., Syriac, Coptic), and so avoids the erroneous reading of Stephens, εἰςὑπόκρισιν (K, L). James 5:13-20 Exhortations with respect to practical conduct in health and sickness. James 5:13 (1) Is any among you suffering? let him pray. (2) Is any cheerful? let him sing praise. Prayer in the narrower sense of petition is rather for sufferers, who need to have their wants supplied and their sorrows removed. Praise, the highest form of prayer, is to spring up from the grateful heart of the cheerful. Ψάλλειν (cf. Romans 15:9; 1 Corinthians 14:15; Ephesians 5:19). James 5:14, James 5:15 Directions in ease of sickness. Let him call for the elders of the Church. Of the original creation of the presbyterate no account is given, but elders appear as already existing in Judaea in Acts 11:30; and from Acts 14:23 we find that St. Paul and St. Barnabas "appointed elders in every Church" which they had founded on their first missionary journey. Nothing, therefore, can be concluded with regard to the date of the Epistle from this notice of elders. The elders were to be summoned for a twofold purpose: (1) that they might pray over the sick person; and (2) that they might anoint him with oil in the Name of the Lord, The result anticipated is also twofold: (1) "the prayer of faith shall save the sick" ("save," σώζειν, here as in other passages, e.g. Matthew 9:21, Matthew 9:22, etc., refers to bodily healing); and (2) "if he have committed sins, it shall be forgiven him." Anointing him with oil in the Name of the Lord. By the omission of the last words, τοῦΚυρίου, B has the striking reading, "anointing him with oil in THE NAME" (compare the use of τὸὄνομα absolutely in Acts 5:41; 3 John 1:7). A similar use is also found in the Epistles of Ignatius. The Vatican Manuscript, however, appears to stand quite alone in this reading here. If the words, τοῦΚυρίου, be admitted, they must be taken as referring to the Lord Jesus (contrast Acts 14:10, ἐντῷὀνόματιΚυρίου). So also in Acts 14:15 the Lord (ὁΚύριος) who shall raise him up is clearly the Lord Jesus. Had God the Father been alluded to we should probably have had the anarthrous Κύριος after the manner of the LXX. (see note on James 4:10). Unction is mentioned in connection with the sick also in Mark 6:13. The apostles "anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them;" and compare the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:34), "pouring in wine and oil." "Josephus mentions that among the remedies employed in the ease of Herod, he was put into a sort of oil bath … The medicinal use of oil is also mentioned in the Mishna, which thus exhibits the Jewish practice of that day". According to Tertullian, "the Christian Proculus, surnamed Torpacion, the steward of Euhodus," cured with oil Severus, the father of Antonino (i.e. Caracalla), who "in gratitude kept him in his palace till the day of his death." Tertullian, ’Ad Scapulam,’ c. 4. (see Oehler’s notes on the passage). But in the case before us if, as in these other instances, the oil was used as an actual remedy, (1) why was it to be administered by the elders? and (2) why is the healing immediately afterwards attributed to "the prayer of faith"? These questions would seem to suggest that oil was enjoined by St. James rather as an outward symbol than as an actual remedy. A further question remains to which a few lines must be devoted. Is the apostle prescribing a rite for all times? On the one hand, we are told that the use of oil was connected with the miraculous powers of healing, and therefore ceased "when those powers ceased". On the other hand, the passage is appealed to as warranting the Roman Catholic sacrament of extreme unction. With regard to the practice of the early Church, there is a constant stream of testimony to the use of oil for purposes of healing; e.g. the case in Tertullian already quoted, and many others in the fourth and fifth centuries. But (1) as originally practiced it was administered by laymen and even by women. (2) After the blessing of the oil was restricted to bishops it was still regarded as immaterial by whom the unction was performed. So Psalm-Innocent, ’Ep. ad Decent.,’ § 8, "Being made by the bishop, it is lawful not for priests only, but for all Christians, to use it in anointing in their own need or in that of their friends." (3) Not till the middle of the ninth century do we meet with any express injunction to the priest to perform the unction himself. (4) "The restraint of the unction to the priest had momentous consequences. The original intention of it in relation to healing of the body was practically forgotten, and the rite came to be regarded as part of a Christian’s immediate preparation for death. Hence in the twelfth century it acquired the name of ’the last unction,’ unctio extrema (Peter Lombard, ’ Sent.,’ 4.23), i.e. as the Catechism of Trent asserts (’De Extr. Unct.,’ 3), the last of those which a man received from the Church. In the thirteenth it was placed by the schoolmen among the seven rites to which they limited the application of the term sacrament’’. In the sixteenth century it was definitely laid down at the Council of Trent, (1) that it is a sacrament instituted by our Lord; (2) that by it grace is conferred, sin remitted, and the sick comforted, "sometimes also" the recovery of health is obtained; (3) that it should be given to those in danger of death, but if they recover they may receive it again (Session 14. c. 9). Further, the Catechism of the Council condemns as a grievous error the practice of waiting to anoint the sick "until all hope of recovery being now lost, life begins to ebb, and the sick person to sink into lifeless insensibility." In spite of this, however, the common practice in the Roman Catholic Church at the present day appears to be to administer the rite only to persons in extremis. Turning now to the Eastern Church, we notice that a rite of unction has been continued there up till the present time. The service, which is a somewhat lengthy one, may be seen in Daniel’s ’Codex Liturgicus,’ bk. 4. c.v.; and cf. Neale’s ’Holy Eastern Church,’ Introd., vol. it. p. 1035, where it is noted that it differs from the Western use in three points: (1) the oil is not previously consecrated by the bishop, but at the time by seven priests; (2) the unction is not conferred only in extremis, but in slighter illness, and if possible in the church; (3) it is not usually considered valid unless at least three priests are present to officiate. It has been thought well to give this slight historical sketch, as affording the best answer to the claims of Romanists by showing how they have gradually departed from the primitive custom and changed the character of the rite. But the sketch will also have shown that it is scarcely accurate to imply that unction ceased when the miraculous powers ceased. At the Reformation, when the English Church wisely rejected the mediaeval service for extreme unction, she yet retained in the first English Prayer-book a simple form of unction, to be used "if the sick person desire it," consisting of (1) anointing, "upon the forehead or breast only," with the sign of the cross; and (2) prayer for the inward anointing of the soul with the Holy Ghost, and for restoration of bodily health and strength. Thus the service was entirely primitive in character, and it is hard to see what valid objection could be raised to it. It was, however, omitted from the second English Prayer-book of 1552, and has never been restored. The justification, I suppose, of this disuse of unction must be sought in the entire absence of evidence that the primitive Church understood the passage before us as instituting a religious rite to be permanently continued. All the earliest notices of unction refer simply to its use for healing purposes. James 5:16 Confess therefore your sins, etc. The authority for the insertion of οὗν (omitted in the Received Text) is overwhelming (à, A, B, K, Vulgate, Syriac, Coptic), as is also that for the substitution of τὰςἁμαρτίας for τὰπαραπτώματα, which includes the three oldest manuscripts, à, A, B, the two latter of which also read προσεύχεσθε for εὔχεσθε. It is difficult to know exactly what to make of this injunction to confess "one to another," which is stated in the form of an inference from the preceding. The form of the expression, "one to another," and the perfectly general term, "a righteous man," forbid us to see in it a direct injunction to confess to the clergy, and to the clergy only. But on the other hand, it is unfair to lose sight of the fact that it is directly connected with the charge to send for the elders of the Church. Marshall, in his’ Penitential Discipline,’ is perfectly justified in saying that St. James "hath plainly supposed the presence of the elders of the Church, and their intercession to God for the sick penitent, and then recommended the confession of his faults in that presence, where two or three assembled together in the Name of Christ might constitute a Church for that purpose". We may, perhaps, be content with saying, with Bishop Jeremy Taylor, "When St. James exhorts all Christians to confess their sins one to another, certainly it is more agreeable to all spiritual ends that this be done rather to the curate of souls than to the ordinary brethren" (’Dissuasive from Popery,’ II. James 1:11; cf. Hooker, ’Eccl. Pol.,’ 6. Ecclesiastes 4:5, Ecclesiastes 4:7). The effectual fervent prayer, etc.; rather, the petition of a righteous man availeth much in its working. On the distinction between δέησις the narrower, and προσευχή the wider word, see Trench on ’ Synonyms,’ p. 179. James 5:17, James 5:18 Illustration of the last statement of Jas 5:16, from the case of Elijah, "a righteous man" under the old covenant, but one "of like passions with us," and therefore one from whose case it is lawful to argue to our own. Subject to like passions as we are. Ὁμοιοπαθὴςἡμῖν: simply "of like passions with us;" cf. Acts 14:15, where it is used in just the same way. In the LXX. only in Wis. 7:3. He prayed earnestly. Προσευχῇπροσηύξατο: a Hebraism, not infrequent in the New Testament (see Luke 22:15; John 3:29; Acts 4:17; Acts 5:28; Acts 23:1-35. 14), in imitation of the Hebrew dissolute infinitive. For the incident alluded to by St. James, see 1 Kings 17:1; 1 Kings 18:1; but note (1) that we are never told that the famine was in consequence of Elijah’s prayer; and (2) nothing is said of the duration of time (three years and a half) during which it rained not upon the earth. All we read is that "after many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year;" but there is no clear indication from what period this "third year" is dated. With regard to (1), it may have been St. James’s own inference from the narrative, or may have been due to tradition. With regard to (2), the very same time is mentioned by our Lord in his allusion to the same incident (Luke 4:25), "the heaven was shut up three years and six months." And as the same period is said to be given in the Yalkut Shimeoni on 1 Kings 16:1-34., it was probably the time handed down by tradition, being taken by the Jews as a symbol of times of tribulation (cf. Daniel 7:25; Daniel 12:7; Revelation 11:2). James 5:19 Final exhortation; introduced, as was the opening one (James 1:2), by the emphatic "my brethren." The Received Text omits μου, but it is found in à, A, B, K, Vulgate. James 5:20 Let him know. So à, A, K, L, Latt., Syriac, B has γινώσκετε, "know ye." After ψυχὴν, à, A, and Vulgate add αὐτοῦ. B has it after θανάτου. And shall cover a multitude of sins (καλύψειπλῆθοςἁμαρτιῶν). The same expression occurs in 1 Peter 4:8, "Charity covereth a multitude of sins." It is founded on Proverbs 10:12, מיעִשָׁףְ־לךָּ לעַוְ הבָהֲאַ הסֶּכַתְּ, "Love covereth all sins," where the LXX. goes entirely astray: Πάνταςδὲτοὺςμὴφιλονεικοῦνταςκαλύπτειφιλία: but cf. Psalms 31:1; Psalms 84:3, in the LXX. It is difficult to believe that St. Peter and St. James independently hit upon the rendering πλῆθοςἁμαρτιῶν for the Hebrew מיעִשָׂףְ־לךָּ, as there was nothing to suggest it, the LXX. never rendering לךֹּ by πλῆθος. Probably the one was consciously or unconsciously influenced by the other. The striking position which the words occupy here, as those with which the Epistle closes, would make them linger in the memory; and there is nothing to militate against the conclusion, which appeared probable on the occasion of previous coincidences between the two writers, that St. James is the earlier of the two (comp. on James 4:6). The expression used by the apostle leaves it undetermined whose sins are thus "covered," whether (1) those of the man who is "converted from the error of his way," or (2) those of the man who wins him back, and through this good action obtains, by the grace of God, pardon for his own "multitude of sins." It has been well noticed that "there is a studied generality in the form of the teaching which seems to emphasize the wide blessedness of love. In the very act of seeking to convert one for whom we care we must turn to God ourselves, and in covering the past sins of another our own also are covered. In such an act love reaches its highest point, and that love includes the faith in God which is the condition of forgiveness" (Plumptre). The Epistle ends abruptly, with no salutation and no doxology. In this it stands almost by itself in the New Testament; the First Epistle of St. John alone approaching it in the abruptness of its conclusion. The judgment on selfishness. Selfishness lay at the root of the sinfulness of the rich men, whose conduct is so sternly denounced. The sin (1) displayed itself mainly in heaping together treasures and living in pleasure upon the earth, as did Dives in the parable; but (2) it led them to injustice (James 5:4) and even murder (James 5:6). So now the selfishness of those who live in splendor and luxury, while they detain the money due to tradesmen, and neglect the payment of accounts rendered, is similar in character to this detaining the wages of the laborers of which the apostle speaks in such scathing terms. "Ye have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter." The judgment falls when least expected. In the days of Noah they were eating anti drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came and took them all away. The judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah, on Babylon in the night of Belshazzar’s feast, when men were cherishing their hearts in the day of slaughter,—all these are well-known types of the suddenness of the judgment that is continually falling upon individuals now, when the Son of man comes to them as a thief in the night, and of that final judgment which shall fall upon the whole world at his last advent. Four considerations moving the Christian to patience. 1. The example of the husbandman—an illustration from nature. If patience is needful in things of this life, is it not also in the world of grace? 2. The approach of the second advent. 3. The example of the prophets. 4. The example and experience of Job—an instance of one whose latter end the Lord blessed more than his beginning. The nearness of the Lord’s advent a reason for patience. To most men the thought of the advent is a thought of warning and of judgment. St. James, following his Master’s example, makes it a thought of consolation. "When ye see these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." Thus Christians may test their spiritual condition by considering whether the thought of its approach is to them one of consolation or of warning. Warning against the sin of swearing. On this text see Barrow’s great sermon, serm. 15., ’Against Rash and Vain Swearing,’ in which is discussed (1) the nature of an oath—" an invocation of God as a faithful Witness of the truth of our words or the sincerity of our meaning;" (2) the lawful use of oaths, as showing our religious confidence in God, and as a service conducible to his glory; (3) the harm of rash and vain swearing (a) to society at large, and (b) to the person who is guilty of it; and (4) the folly and aggravation of the offence, in that it has no strong temptation alluring to it—it gratifies no sense, yields no profit, procures no honor; the vain swearer has not the common plea of human infirmity to excuse him. The power of Divine worship. On this verse there is a striking sermon by J. H. Newman (vol. 3. No. 23), ’Religious Worship a Remedy for Excitement.’ "There is that in religious worship which supplies all our spiritual needs, which suits every mood of mind and every variety of circumstances, over and above the supernatural assistance which we are allowed to expect from it." Divine worship may thus be viewed as the proper antidote to excitement. In suffering, prayer; in joy, praise. These relieve the heart, and "keep the mind from running to waste; calming, soothing, sobering, steadying it; attuning it to the will of God and the mind of the Spirit, teaching it to love all men, to be cheerful and thankful, and to be resigned in all the dispensations of Providence towards us." James 5:14-18 The power and value of intercessory prayer I. THE POWER AND VALUE OF PRAYER, enforced by the instance of the effect of Elijah’s prayers—the petitions of a man who was of like passions with us, and therefore one from whose ease it is fair to argue to our own. Intercessory prayer may be viewed as a privilege and work in which all can have their share. While Joshua is down in the valley fighting with Amalek, Moses in the mount must lift up holy hands to God in prayer; and when Moses lifted up his hands, Joshua and Israel prevailed. So with the Church’s warfare against her spiritual foes. Those who shall intercede and cry unto God day and night are needed equally with those who will bear the burden and heat of the day in the forefront of the battle. "They also serve who only stand and wait." II. THE NEED OF AND OF SIN. This most necessary part of repentance is taught throughout the Bible. It is seen under the Law in the ordinances of the day of atonement (Leviticus 16:21), and in the directions with regard to the sin offering (Le Joshua 5:1-5; cf. Numbers 5:6, Numbers 5:7). It is found in the ministry of the Baptist, and continued under the Christian dispensation (Acts 19:18). How much of modern repentance is shallow and superficial, because men shrink from this! They excuse their sins, and content themselves with the general acknowledgment that they are sinners, instead of acknowledging the particular sins of which they are guilty, even to God in secret. In cases, too, where the fault has been against man, these confessions (sometimes the only reparation left) should be made to him who has been wronged; and in various sins we may say that "it is good to open the soul’s grief to a wise and kind friend. The act humbles, it tests the penitence; a fairer judgment than one’s own is gained, with the help of advice and prayers. If the need be felt great, or the soul’s questions be hard, the burdened one will naturally go to some discreet and learned minister of God’s Word," as the Prayer-book directs him (see the first exhortation in the Communion Service). III. ELIJAH A MAN OF LUKE WITH US; and yet he was one of the greatest saints under the old covenant, and honored in an especial way by exemption from the common lot of mortals, being taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire. Hence in our own case, too, holiness, even saintliness, is by God’s grace attainable (cf. Goulburn’s ’Pursuit of Holiness’ c. 1). James 5:19, James 5:20 The blessedness of winning back a single sinner from the error of his ways. BY C. JERDAN The judgments coming upon the wicked rich. This apostrophe is so dreadful that we cannot imagine it to have been addressed to professing Christians. It would rather seem that the apostle here turns aside to glance at the godless rich Jews of his time, who were in the habit of persecuting the Church and defrauding the poor (James 2:6, James 2:7). His words regarding them are words of stern denunciation. Like one of the old Hebrew prophets, he curses them in the name of the Lord. Its design in doing so, however, must have been in unison with his life-work as a Christian apostle, laboring in "the acceptable time;" he sought, by proclaiming the terrors of the Lord, to persuade to repentance and a holy life. The paragraph breaks naturally into three sections. James 5:1 refers to the future; James 5:2, James 5:3 to the present; James 5:4-6 mainly to the past. We shall consider these three sections in the inverse order. I. THE CAUSES OF IN THE PAST. (James 5:4-6) James mentions three. 1. Heartless injustice. (Verse 4) The humane Law of Moses forbade that the wages of the hired laborer be kept back even for a single night (Deuteronomy 24:14, Deuteronomy 24:15); but these wicked men had paid no heed to that Law. They had grown rich by defrauding the poor. Instead of relieving the needy by a liberal charity, they had not even paid the lawful debts which they owed them. And does not this sin linger in the heart of Christendom? What was American slavery but just a crushing of the poor? What was villeinage in our own country but a defrauding of the laborers? It is net yet a century since the Scotch collier was attached by law to the coal-work where he had been born—the right to his services being bought and sold with the mine itself. In more recent times our poets have once and again given voice to great social wrongs in weeds that have rung like a tocsin through the land (e.g. Mrs. Browning’s ’Cry of the Children,’ and Hood’s ’Song of the Shirt’). Or, to take the form of labor referred to in verse 4, we may ask—Is the condition of the English ploughman even yet what it ought to be, and what our rich landlords ought to help to make it? James says that the robbing of the poor is a "crying" sin. The victims themselves cry; and even their wages, fraudulently withheld, "cry out" also from the coffers of the rich. But there is One who has ears to ear, and a heart to resent, the injustice. "The Lord of hosts" will avenge the poor of the people who trust in him. 2. Lavish luxuriousness. (Verse 5) The wealthy, wicked Jews sinned, not only against righteousness, but against temperance. They were luxurious in their living, and prodigal in their expenditure. And this wasteful life of theirs was largely maintained at the expense of the poor whom they defrauded. It was "the hire of the laborers" that had built their magnificent palaces, and bought the beds of ivory upon which they lay. They did all this "on the earth," and as if they "should still live forever" (Psalms 49:9) here. They forgot that in their godless self-indulgence they were acting like "mere animals, born to be taken and destroyed" (2 Peter 2:12). Unconscious of impending ruin, they were still living voluptuously; like the fat ox, which continues to revel among the rich pastures on the very morning of the "day of slaughter." 3. Murderous cruelty. (Verse 6) By "the righteous," or "just," many understand the Lord Jesus Christ; this statement being a historic allusion to the scenes of Gabbatha and Calvary. And it is very probable that the murder of our Lord was in the apostle’s mind. But we judge that the words are rather to be regarded as describing a prevalent practice of the wicked rich in every age. They apply to the death of Jesus Christ, but also to that of Stephen, and to that of James the brother of John; and they were soon to be illustrated again in the martyrdom of the writer himself. For our apostle, by reason of his integrity and purity, was surnamed "the Righteous;" and he was by-and-by condemned and killed by the scribes and Pharisees of Jerusalem. But why all this oppression of "the righteous"? It is inflicted simply because they are righteous. Every holy life is an offence to evil men. Because Christ was holy, he was crucified. Because Stephen was "full of faith and of the Holy Spirit," he was stoned. Because James was truly righteous, he was thrown from the battlements of the temple, and killed with a fuller’s club. Finally, the apostle adds, "He doth not resist you." The righteous man submits patiently to your persecuting violence. He endures your murderous cruelty with holy meekness. Jesus did so (Isaiah 53:7). Stephen did so (Acts 7:60). James presently would do so: he is said to have offered the very prayer for his murderers which his crucified Master had done. Such patient endurance, however, only increases the guilt of the persecutors, and shall make their doom more awful. II. THE FIRST OF IN THE PRESENT. (Verses 2, 3) The material for their punishment was being prepared, in accordance with the law of retribution, out of the very wealth on which they doted. "Of our pleasant vices" Divine Providence makes "instruments to plague us." "Your riches are corrupted;" that is, their treasures of grain and fruits were already rotting in the storehouses. Since these were not being used to feed the hungry, God’s curse was upon them all. "Your garments are moth-eaten;" because these rich men did not clothe the naked out of their costly wardrobes, the moth was cutting up these with his remorseless little tooth. "Your gold and your silver are rusted;" that is, their money, not being used for doing good, lay in their treasure-chests morally cankered by the base avarice which kept it there. And that rust shall not only eat up the wealth itself; it shall also gnaw the conscience of its faithless possessor. It shall be a witness-bearer to his sin, and an executioner of it, is punishment, By-and-by, the remorseful thought of his unused riches shall torture his soul as with the touch of burning fire. These men had "laid up their treasure in the last days;" that is, immediately before the coming of the Lord in judgment to make an end of the entire Hebrew polity. And their wealth would avail them nothing in the presence of that great catastrophe. These corrupting treasures of theirs would corrupt still further into treasures of wrath. After the first droppings would come the deluge. III. THE FULL FLOOD OF IN THE FUTURE. (Vex. 1) The "miseries" spoken of refer primarily to the sorrows connected with the impending siege and ruin of Jerusalem. These were to fall with especial severity upon the influential classes; and the Hebrews of the Dispersion, in whatsoever land they might be, were to share them. The wealthy men among the unbelieving Jews had sinned most; so they were to suffer most. Well, therefore, might they "weep" at the prospect, as only Orientals can weep; and "howl" as only brute beasts can do. But these words point onward further in history than to the destruction of Jerusalem. The full flood of "miseries" which providence is preparing shall overtake the ungodly rich only at the Lord’s second coming, when he shall appear to judge the whole world. The ruin of Jerusalem was but a faint foreshadowing of the" eternal destruction" of the wicked which shall begin at that day (Matthew 24:1-51). These "miseries" suggest solemn thoughts of the doom of eternity. LESSONS. 1. To remember the moral government of God, and to make ready to meet him in the judgment (verses 1-6). 2. The sin of the wicked prepares its own punishment (verses 2, 3). 3. One of the greatest social wants of our time is that of mutual sympathy between the capitalist and the laborer (verse 4). 4. A Christian should avoid debt as he would avoid the devil (verse 4). 5. The right use of wealth is not to spend it upon self-indulgence, but to do good with it (verse 5). 6. A man has reason to suspect the purity of his own character, if no one ever persecutes him (verse 6).—C. J. James 5:7, James 5:8 Long-suffering in view of Christ’s coming. These words strike one of the leading chords of the Epistle. There is no grace which its readers are more earnestly exhorted to cultivate than that of patience. In the preceding verses James has been denouncing the rich ungodly Jews. The Epistle was not addressed to them, however, but to the Christian Jews who were suffering from their oppression and cruelty. So, the apostle here resumes the ordinary tenor of his letter. He exhorts the Church to continue patient and unresisting, like the ideal "righteous one" of verse 6. He suggests the thought that the Lord’s coming, while it would usher in the doom of the wicked rich, would also bring deliverance to his own people. The same event which their oppressors should contemplate with weeping and howling (verse 1) would be to the righteous a joyful jubilee. I. THE . (Verses 7, 8, first parts) To wait constitutes a large portion of religious duty. Indeed, patience is not a segment merely of the Christian character; it is a spirit which is to pervade every fiber of it. In all ages spiritual wants and trials are the same; and believers, therefore, have always the same "need of patience." To "wait upon God" is a frequent exhortation of Scripture. The cultivation of this patience is perfectly consistent with holy activity. It springs from the same root of faith from which good works spring. We show our faith not only by our active "works," but also when we "endure, as seeing him who is invisible." Again, Christian patience is to coexist along with the fullest sensibility of suffering. "Long-suffering" necessarily involves the consciousness of suffering; and so does "patience," as the etymology of the word reminds us. Christian comfort does not come to us in connection with any incapability of sorrow; it comes as the result of the subjugation of the passions, and the cultivation of complete acquiescence in the Divine will. The apostle indicates the limit of this long-suffering—"until the coming of the Lord." What advent does this mean? To the early Hebrew Christians it meant mediately the impending destruction of Jerusalem. To us it means in like manner any interposition of Providence to deliver us from trouble, including our removal by death. But the ultimate reference, both for the early Church and for us, is doubtless to the Lord’s final advent at the close of time. Then the Savior shall appear as the Judge of all, and shall forever put an end to tyranny and wrong. The thought of that great event is surely well fitted to "stablish our hearts," i.e. to strengthen them for patient endurance. II. THE EXAMPLE. (Verse 7, second part) As an illustration of his subject, and in order to excite the grace of patience within the hearts of his readers, James introduces an allusion to the pursuits of husbandry. Think, he says, of the long-suffering of the farmer. His is a life of arduous toils and of anxious delays. He must wait for the "early rain" in the late autumn before he can sow his seed; and for the "latter rain" in April, upon which his crops depend for the filling of the ear before the harvest ripens. This patience is necessary. Although sometimes sorely tried, it is reasonable. The "fruit ’ which the farmer desires is "precious;" it is worth waiting for. And his long-suffering is also full of hope. It has been rewarded by the bounty of Providence in former years; and besides, if he be a pious man, he remembers the Divine assurance that "seed-time and harvest shall not cease." Now, says the apostle, afflicted Christians are to learn from this example a lesson of long-suffering. Trial and persecution are designed to yield an infinitely more "precious" harvest than that for which the husbandman waits. This harvest is "the fruit of righteousness"—"the fruit of the Spirit." And spiritual fruit takes far longer time to mellow than the natural harvest does. So "it is good for a man quietly to wait" for it. We have the assurance that in spiritual husbandry the ultimate reward is never disappointing. "In due season we shall reap, if we faint not." III. THE . (Verse 8, second part) "The coming of the Lord is at hand." This implies, first of all, that the Lord is sure to come. While no farmer possesses an absolute certainty in reference to the harvest on his own particular farm, every one who in the spiritual sphere "sows to the Spirit" may rest assured that the day of an abundant and blessed ingathering will arrive. The Lord Jesus, who came to our world nearly nineteen centuries ago, is to come again, His second coming is the greatest event in the future of the Church. It is the pole-star of her hopes. When he appears, the spiritual harvest shall be reaped. We, accordingly, shall cherish the true spirit of long-suffering, only in so far as we "love his appearing," and realize that the purpose of it is to reward his people and take vengeance upon their enemies. It is a sign that our faith is weak, if we meditate seldom, and pray little, about our Lord’s second coming. How different was it in this respect with the apostles and the early Church! But, if the final advent was near in the first century, it is still nearer now; and in the interval what arrears of vengeance have been accumulating! It should be our comfort in the time of trouble to reflect that "the coming of the Lord is at hand." The whole New Testament Church lies under the shadow of the second advent. It will be an event of infinite moment, and therefore it is never far away. To the view of God, with whom "one day is as a thousand years," this event is nigh; and the men of faith learn to see it from God’s point of view. Compared, also, with the great eternity on the other side, the second advent seems "at hand." What an encouragement does this thought supply, in the direction of devout patience, both in working and in suffering! It should be at once a spur and an anodyne, to know that the Lord is already on his way. For, when he comes, he will reward all service, and right every wrong, and take his people home to himself.—C. J. James 5:9-11 Bear and forbear. Here we have another exhortation to patience, with other examples of its exercise. In James 5:7, James 5:8, however, the apostle has had in view the persecutions which believers suffer at the hands of the ungodly; while he now refers to the trial of patience which arises from collision of feeling among Christian brethren themselves. I. A WARNING AGAINST WITH ONE ANOTHER. (James 5:9) "Murmur not, brethren," implies that believers are apt within their hearts, if not also openly, to complain of each other. Indeed, it sometimes requires greater patience to bear with composure the little frictions of feeling to which close contact with Christian brethren exposes, than to endure open and overt wrongs at the hands of persons who are not such. The warning has a lesson: 1. For the family circle. What a happy society is that of a well-ordered family, where love reigns between husband and wife, and where the parents enjoy the confidence and obedience of wisely trained children! But this fireside happiness can be enjoyed only in connection with constant mutual forbearance. How prone, sometimes, are even husband and wife to misunderstand each other! And how often are households made unhappy by envying and quarrelling among the children! Let us remember that the persons who live in the same house with us are in the very best position for appraising the value of our Christian profession. They know at least whether we are learning to bear kindly with the infirmities of our own relations, and to endure with patience petty discomforts in domestic life. The grace of God within the soul will enable us to "walk within our house with a perfect heart" (Psalms 101:2). 2. For the business circle. How many offences arise among Christian men when engaged in the toil and strain of commercial competition! One brother grudges the worldly successes of his neighbor; and perhaps his heart harbors against him uncharitable accusations of dishonest dealing. But, as Abraham long ago was content that Lot should appropriate to himself the best of the land rather than that their herdmen should quarrel, so still it will do a Christian man less harm to make sometimes what is financially a bad bargain, than to soil his soul by cherishing evil thoughts regarding any brother believer. 3. For the Church circle. There is apt to be murmuring and grumbling in ecclesiastical life. Sometimes the spiritual office-bearers of a congregation get but little thanks for the work which they do. Sometimes, also, the people forget that they ought to have large mutual patience with one another. The liberal progress-loving member is apt to groan over the attitude of his conservative let-things-alone brother; and the educated and cultured Christian may fail at times to forbear with the man of narrow and exclusive views. The exemplary Church member, while ready at all times to maintain and defend his own opinions, is yet willing gracefully to yield (wherever conscience does not forbid) to what the majority decide upon, that thereby he may promote the general peace and edification. II. THE BY WHICH THIS WARNING IS . (James 5:9) James employs a sweetly persuasive motive in the word "brethren." To complain of each other is to sin against the highest and most sacred brotherhood. This motive, however, is only lightly touched, in passing. The apostle backs up his warning with a solemn sanction. Echoing, as he does so often, his Master’s words in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:1), he speaks of the bar of God, and of the Lord Christ the Judge. To refuse to forbear with brethren, he says, amounts virtually to an assumption of the judicial office, and will expose one’s self to be "judged." For what right have we to judge our brethren? We lack the necessary discrimination; our own hearts are impure; and we shall very soon have ourselves to appear before the judgment-bar. Already, indeed, "the Judge standeth before the doors." He is near at hand, to discharge perfectly those functions which we are so prone to usurp; and, in doing so, to condemn all who may have been guilty of such usurpation. III. THE BY CERTAIN OLD . (Verses 10, 11) It should cheer us, under this and every other form of trial, to remember how the great seers and saints of old endured their afflictions. 1. The example of the prophets. (Verse 10) The Jewish Christians had a deep reverence for the memory of these noble men. The prophets had been the religious teachers of ancient Israel; through them the Divine Spirit himself had spoken. The influence which they exercised while they lived had sometimes been prodigious; indeed, their power was often greater than the power of the sovereign. Yet the lot of the prophets had been one of sore affliction. They were an example to the New Testament Church: (1) Of suffering. Their trials came upon them as the result of the fidelity with which they "spake in the name of the Lord." It was so with Moses, Elijah, Micaiah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel. The Jews indeed were accustomed to confess that the prophets generally had been persecuted (Matthew 23:1-39. 30, 37; Acts 7:52; Hebrews 11:36-38). No wonder, then, since trouble fell on these great men, that it should fall on us. We may be well contented to follow in the faith that has been trodden by "the goodly fellowship." (2) Of long-suffering. We are to think also of the meekness of the prophets when enduring their unparalleled afflictions. They were sorely tried by the murmurings of their "brethren," to whom they spoke the Word of God; yet how patiently they bore it all! They laid hold upon the Divine strength, and thus learned to bear and forbear. And so, despite their infirmities and occasional lapses from patience, of these men "the world was not worthy." 2. The example of Job. (Verse 11) Although the Book of Job is a poem, our apostle evidently believed it to have an underlying basis of veritable history. The man Job actually existed; and his proverbial patience is an example to the Church. Think of the dreadful distresses which came thick and fast upon him. By successive strokes he was deprived of property, family, health, reputation, and true sympathy. Yet Job left his sufferings with God. He learned to forbear with the bigotry and stupidity of his friends. He evinced at last, in spite of some serious failures, a spirit of perfect submission to the Divine will. He interceded for his misguided comforters; and God forgave them. Job’s case, however, is introduced here chiefly with the view of pointing to "the end" or conclusion which the Lord gave to him (Job 42:12). His God, whom he feared, rewarded signally, even in this life, his wonderful patience. And the great lesson which we should learn from Job’s career is "that the Lord is full of pity, and merciful." He is so in the very sending of trial, in the measure of it, in the grace which he gives to bear it, in the unraveling of its merciful purpose, and in the happy issues with which he rewards his people, when they "have been approved" (James 1:12). Trial is a goodly discipline intended to prepare for the "goodly heritage;" and thus they will be "bleared’ who shall have "endured."—C.J. Against swearing. The apostle has been exhorting to long-suffering under trials; and he now prohibits profanity. For impatience in the time of affliction may betray a man into speaking unadvisedly, and may even tempt him to take the Name of God in vain. I. THE KIND OF WHICH IS HERE . We believe that James condemns only what is called profane swearing. He exhorts the brethren to abstain from hasty and frivolous oaths. Some commentators, indeed (as De Wette), some philosophers (as Bentham), some Fathers of the early Church, and some Christian sects (as the Quakers), interpret this command, with that of our Lord in his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:34-37), as an absolute condemnation of all kinds of swearing. The prevailing judgment of the Church, however, is that upon solemn occasions oaths may be not only lawful, but sometimes also dutiful. For what does an oath mean? It means, to call upon God to take notice of, and to ratify, some particular assertion. And Christian intelligence suggests that there can be nothing sinful in this, provided it be done only upon a solemn judicial occasion and in a reverent spirit. The words in the third commandment which are emphatic are evidently the words "in vain," it being assumed that there is a lawful use of the Divine Name. Passages are to be found in the Old Testament in which God enjoins upon his people the taking of solemn oaths (Deuteronomy 6:13; Deuteronomy 10:20; Jeremiah 12:16); and it was ordained in the Law given from Sinai, that persons accused of certain offences might clear themselves by an adjuration (Exodus 22:10, Exodus 22:11). Prophets and apostles often attested their inspired messages with an oath: e.g. Elijah (1 Kings 17:1), Micaiah (1 Kings 22:14), Paul (Galatians 1:20; 2 Corinthians 1:23). The Lord Jesus Christ, when put upon his oath by the high priest, accepted the adjuration, although he had before been silent (Matthew 26:63, Matthew 26:64). And, highest of all, Jehovah himself is represented as swearing (Psalms 110:4; Hebrews 6:13). When, therefore, Jesus and James say, "Swear not," they do not forbid solemn oaths, if used sparingly, upon appropriate occasions, and as an act of worship; but only such swearing as is passionate, purposeless, profane. II. THE NEED THAT THERE IS FOR SUCH A . Colloquial swearing was a clamant sin among the Hebrews, as it still is among the Orientals. The people generally were adepts in the use of profane expletives. Rabbinical casuistry had devised many subtle refinements with the view of permitting indulgence in the habit on all occasions (Matthew 23:16-22). The scribes taught that while it was sinful to swear expressly by the Divine Name, it was allowable to do so by heaven, by the earth, by the prophets, by Jerusalem, by the temple, by the altar, by the blood of Abel, by one’s own head, etc. This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/pulpit-commentary/